| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Toxoplasma gondii</it> is a major problem for the sheep industry as it may cause reproduction problems. The importance of <it>T. gondii</it> in Norwegian goat herds is uncertain, but outbreaks of toxoplasmosis in dairy goat farms have been recorded. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of <it>T. gondii</it> infection in Norwegian dairy goats by using serology.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Goat serum originally collected as part of two nationwide surveillance and control programmes between 2002 and 2008 were examined for <it>T. gondii</it> antibodies by using direct agglutination test. In total, 55 of 73 herds (75%) had one or more serologically positive animals, while 377 of 2188 (17%) of the individual samples tested positive for <it>T. gondii</it> antibodies.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This is the first prevalence study of <it>T. gondii</it> infection in Norwegian goats. The results show that Norwegian goat herds are commonly exposed to <it>T. gondii</it>. Nevertheless, the majority of goat herds have a low prevalence of antibody positive animals, which make them vulnerable to infections with <it>T. gondii</it> during the gestation period.</p>
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