ABSTRACT

The present study was conducted to investigate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii specific antibodies in domestic (Columba livia domestica) and wild (Columba livia livia) pigeons between October 2003-June 2004.

Blood samples were collected from 216 pigeons, consisting of 105 (55 female, 50 male) domestic pigeons and 111 (53 female, 58 male) wild pigeons. The sera were tested for T. gondii antibodies using the Sabin Feldman Dye Test (SFDT).

One of the 105 (0.95%) domestic pigeon and one of the 111 (0.90%) wild pigeon were found to be seropositive for T. gondii antibodies at the titer of 1:16.

This is the first serological study on toxoplasmosis in the domestic and wild pigeon in the Niğde region of Turkey.

Keywords: Columba livia domestica, Columba livia livia, pigeon, Toxoplasma gondii