Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in domestic sheep in the Faroe Islands

Little has been known about the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii in the remote isolated archipelago of the Faroe Islands. This study was conducted to estimate T. gondii seroprevalence in domestic sheep in the Faroe Islands. We tested samples from 122 sheep slaughtered for human consumption in October 2021 for presence of antibodies against the parasite using a commercial multi-species ELISA. The sheep originated from 14 land lots across the Faroe Islands. Four sheep were seropositive for T. gondii, corresponding to a seroprevalence estimate of 3.3 %. All four seropositive sheep were adult ewes; the seroprevalence estimate among adult ewes was 19.0 %. At least one seropositive sheep was found from three of the 14 land lots (21.4 %). All seropositive sheep were adult ewes, suggesting acquired infections from oocysts. The infections occurred in three distant out-fields, indicating multifocal environmental oocyst contamination.