First report of Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in peafowls in Yunnan Province, Southwestern China

Tian, Yi-Ming; Dai, Fei-Yan; Huang, Si-Yang; Deng, Zu-Hong; Duan, Gang; Zhou, Dong-Hui; Yang, Jian-Fa; Weng, Ya-Biao; Zhu, Xing-Quan; Zou, Feng-Cai

Sera were examined by the modified agglutination test (MAT) to detect antibodies against T. gondii as described previously [24] [25] [26] [27] . Compared to other serologic methods, MAT is considered sensitive and specific for detecting T. gondii antibodies in many animals, including birds because the whole killed T. gondii tachyzoites were used as antigen and the addition of 2-mercapthetanol avoided the IgM-like substances that interfere with the specificity of the test [24] . At the beginning, sera were tested at 1:5 dilution to screen for the anti-T. gondii antibodies with MAT. Then, sera with positive or doubtful reactions were diluted two-fold starting at 1:5 dilution and assayed for T. gondii antibodies. A chicken serum sample obtained through experimental infection by T. gondii with a MAT antibody titer of 1:640 [28] was used as positive control. The serum sample of this chicken obtained before experimental infection by T. gondii was used as negative control.