693-698 Liu Q.pmd

The prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in free-range chickens in Jilin province, northeastern China was investigated. A total of 1095 serum samples were collected from nine administrative regions from July to October, 2012, and antibodies to T. gondii were examined by an in-house enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using Toxoplasma lysate antigen (TLA). The detection results were confirmed by Western blot. The overall seroprevalence of T. gondii in free-range chickens was 17.6% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.4–19.4%), ranging from 13.3% (95% CI, 6.3–20.4%) in Siping to 23.6% (95% CI, 15.7–31.6%) in Liaoyuan. There was no significant difference in T. gondii infection among different regions in Jilin province (P> 0.05). The widespread presence of T. gondii infection in freerange chickens of Jilin province implies the wide contamination with T. gondii oocysts in the living environment of people, and free-range chickens might be an important source of infection for humans.