Retail Sheep Meat as a Potential Source of Toxoplasma gondii: A Molecular Survey in Aksaray Province

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the molecular prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in minced sheep meat samples collected from retail stores in Aksaray provinceTürkiye. A total of 100 samples were analyzed using PCRand only parasite DNA was detectedwith an overall prevalence rate of 15%. No statistically significant difference was observed between districts or retail sources (p>0.05). Sequencing results confirmed that the isolates showed a high level of similarity with T. gondii reference sequences. These findings suggest a potential food safety concern related to the consumption of undercooked sheep meat; howeverthe detection of parasite DNA alone does not confirm parasite viability or infectivity.