molecular detection of toxoplasma gondii in chicken meats and eggs in semnan city, iran

Background: toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite, a member of the phylum apicomplexa. felids are definitive hosts, and all warm-blooded animals and humans are intermediate hosts. the clinical symptoms of toxoplasmosis among chickens are mostly subclinical, but the infection of chickens and eggs is important as a source of protein for human consumption. objectives: this study aimed to detect t. gondii in chicken meat and egg by molecular examination.methods: in this study, 100 chicken legs, 50 eggs of free-range hens, and 50 eggs of industrial hens were collected from different stores in semnan city, iran. the samples were inspected for the toxoplasma b1 gene after dna extraction.results: according to the results, toxoplasma dna was detected in 23% of chicken legs, 36% of eggs of free-range hens, and 20% of eggs of industrial hens. the infection rate was not significantly different between eggs of free-range and industrial hens (p>0.05). conclusion: therefore, toxoplasma is present in chicken meats and eggs in semnan, iran, and it is recommended that people eat well-cooked chicken meat and eggs for disease control and feed domestic carnivores with cooked meat to prevent the parasite life cycle.