Toxoplasmosis and abortive chlamydia continues to spread and cause considerable economic losses in small ruminant farms. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence and highlight the risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in small ruminants in Cameroon. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 200 small ruminant farms during a period from April to October 2021. A total of 1061 small ruminants were sampled and the sera obtained were analysed using the indirect multi-species ELISA test for toxoplasmosis and abortive chlamydia at the national veterinary laboratory. A questionnaire was constructed to collect information about flock management and animal risk factors possibly associated with Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in goats and sheep. Overall, 329 small ruminants tested positive for Toxoplasma gondii and 45 for Chlamydia abortus with a prevalence of 31.01% (95% CI: 28.23 - 33.79) for toxoplasmosis and 4.24% (95% CI: 3.03 - 5.45) for chlamydia abortus, respectively. However, a significant co-infection of 1.82% (95% CI: 0.37 - 3.27) was obtained between Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus (p=0.02). Univariate analysis showed that region (p=0.0001), species (p=0.0001), sex (p=0.0002), age (p=0.0002) and breed (p=0.01) were the risk factors associated with the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in small ruminant farms in Cameroon; while breed (p=0.0001) and the presence of abortion (p=0.0003) were identified as risk factors strongly associated with the seroprevalence of Chlamydia abortus . These results could be used to implement efficient management measures to prevent and control Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydia abortus infection in goats and sheep in Cameroon.

Zoonotic abortive diseases represent a significant health and economic risk for livestock farmers and animal health stakeholders in Cameroon. This cross-sectional survey was conducted from April to October 2021 among 200 selected small ruminant farmers in the three northern regions of Cameroon. Data collection was done through semi-structured questionnaires administered by exchange with the herder and responses were coded and recorded on an Excel spreadsheet. The data were then analyzed with R software, version 2.13.0. An ANOVA test was used to assess significant differences in mean KAPP scores between regions. Pearson correlations were used to calculate the association between KAPP scores within regions. Small ruminant farmers surveyed had low mean scores for knowledge of abortive Toxoplasmosis and Chlamydia (0.1 ± 0.2), desirable attitude (0.32 ± 0.07), appropriate practice (0.36 ± 0.13) in managing abortion, and positive perception of zoonotic risks of Toxoplasmosis and Chlamydia in small ruminants (0.12 ± 0.33), respectively. KAPP was significantly (p<0.01) and positively associated with knowledge (r=0.98) and risk perception (r=0.99). However, attitudes (r=0.06), practices (r=0.05) and risk perception of toxoplasmosis (r=0.07) and abortive chlamydia (r=0.08) were not associated with farmers' knowledge. This study revealed significant knowledge gaps, low levels of desired attitudes, and high-risk behavioral practices. These results therefore call for capacity building of health professionals and farmers to better integrate the One Health concept in the management of neglected zoonotic diseases.