Introduction: One of the most typical illnesses in women is toxoplasmosis, and considered a transmissible disease between humans and animals. Cats show a major part in contributing to the spread of toxoplasma, so they stay the final host, which shed their eggs with feces to the environment, which leads to contamination of water and food. Objective: The purpose of the current research is to determine if keeping cats at home contributes to the spread of toxoplasmosis or not, and what is the difference between stray and pet cats in the spread of the disease. Patients and Methods: An epidemiology research on toxoplasmosis was undertaken in Anbar province. A total 120 human blood samples were collected from people attending veterinary clinics in Anbar Governorate and 62 fecal samples of cats, from November 2021 to April 2022. Human's samples were tested by Latex agglutination, while cat's samples were tested by direct detection of oocyst. Results: The result showed that 33 of 120 (27.5%) blood sample of female human were positive by (latex test IgM, IgG) and 87 of 120 (72.5%) were negative. These samples were divided into woman having cat (51.67%) and woman don't have cat (48.33%). The result of cats showed oocyst (9.67%) positive result fecal samples of cats, using feces flotation method. Conclusion: Toxoplasmosis infection does not only occur in people who own cats, because many infected people did not have direct contact with cats, but may be infection by undercooked meat or by the soil that holds the eggs.

Background: Toxoplasmosis is a common zoonotic disease affecting one-third of the world population with potentially serious health implications. Aim of the study: To find the prevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection among females in Al-Anbar, Iraq.  Methodology: Over an eight-month period from (1st November 2021 to 30th June 2022), 200 females visiting private veterinary clinics in Al-Anbar (92 owned cats) participated in this prospective study. Age and residency were recorded. Blood samples were collected from all females and subjected first to the Toxoplasma Latex Agglutination test (TLAT). Samples of cat feces were collected from 57 (62%) pet and 35 (38%) stray cats and subjected first to direct microscopy looking for Toxoplasma oocysts. Blood and fecal samples were then tested by nested polymerase chain reaction (n-PCR) and real-time PCR. Results were then statistically analyzed. Results: Rates of human toxoplasmosis were (n=48, 24%), (n=60, 30%), and (n=77, 38.5%) with TLAT, n-PCR, and RT-PCR tests respectively. Likewise, rates of cat toxoplasmosis were (n=7, 7.6%), (n=55, 60%), and (n=80, 87.0%) with TLAT, n-PCR, and RT-PCR tests respectively.  Results of the latex test revealed that females >40 had a high rate of infection (45.8%) compared with those aged 31-40 years (33.8%) and those aged 21-30 years (13.0%) (P≤0.01). City resident females had a lower infection rate compared to village residents (29.7% vs. 55.4%). Conclusions: Toxoplasmosis was more prevalent in females >40 from rural areas but wasn’t related to contact with cats. Real-time PCR provided a better diagnostic yield.