Molecular Evidence of Toxoplasma gondii in Ticks Collected from Ruminants in Punjab, Pakistan

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an important pathogen in terms of veterinary and human public health and is responsible for Toxoplasmosis. Ticks are the leading vectors of veterinary and medically important pathogens, and T. gondii has also been detected in ticks in some studies. Information on the molecular occurrence of T. gondii in ticks from Pakistan is lacking. The current study aims to detect the existence of T. gondii DNA in ticks in Pakistan. A total of 1075 ticks were collected from 270 different animals. Each sample was identified morphologically using a stereomicroscope. DNA from pooled samples was screened for T. gondii detection by PCR assay targeting a 529 bp repetitive element. The overall PCR-positive pool proportion of T. gondii was found to be 13% in 100 pooled samples of ticks. PCR-positive pool proportion of T. gondii was observed in ticks collected from district Pakpattan (16.7%), district Sahiwal (12.5%), and district Okara (10%). PCR-positive pool proportion of T. gondii DNA was higher in ticks of the Hyalomma genus collected from buffalo (20%) and goats (13.6%) and the genus Rhipicephalus collected from cattle (27.7%) and sheep (10%). This study is the first molecular evidence of T. gondii DNA in ticks from the Sahiwal division of Punjab province, Pakistan.