Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii in urban cats from China

Abstract

Background Toxoplasma gondii infects almost all warm-blooded animals, and cats play a crucial role in the epidemiology of T. gondii as the definitive host. Despite sporadic reports on the seroprevalence of T. gondii in domestic cats, systematic surveys are lacking and some regions remain in China uninvestigated. Methods A total of 1,521 serum samples were collected from 10 regions of China and analyzed by antibodies against T. gondii by ELISA with the purpose of identifying risk factors of T. gondii infection in cats across China and obtaining seroprevalence data from some previously uninvestigated areas. Results Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 62 of 1,478 (4.2%) urban pet cats and in 9 of 43 (20.9%) stray cats. Among the regions examined, the prevalence was 13% in Sichuan, 12.8% in Chongqing, 6.4% in Hunan, 2.5% in Hubei and 0.9% in Guangdong. Additionally, this is the first report on the seroprevalence of T. gondii in urban pet cats from Qinghai (6.2%), Anhui (3.1%), Jiangxi (2.5%), Shaanxi (2.4%) and Ningxia (1.6%). The age and lifestyle (stray or pet) of cats were identified as the risk factors for seropositivity by multivariate analysis of the data. Conclusions Our findings improve our understanding of seroprevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection in cats across China, and provide useful information for the formulating of preventive and control measures against this widespread zoonotic parasite.

Serological Screening for Toxoplasmosis in Domestic Cats of Central Kerala

“…This result is in agreement with previous reports from Norway (Saevik et al, 2015). But no significant difference in the seroprevalence of T.gondii could be detected in male and female cats in Japan (Nogami et al, 1998), Brazil (Cardia et al, 2013), China (Xia et al, 2022) and Saudi Arabia (Mohammed et al, 2019). On the other hand, a higher seroprevalence of T. gondii has been reported in female cats in Hungary (Hornok et al, 2008).…”

“…The higher seropositivity has been reported with increasing age of the cats ( Ahmad et al, 2014;Must et al, 2015) indicating that age is a risk factor for seropositivity in cats. Higher seropositivity in older cats might be related to increased exposure to T. gondii oocysts through food, water and outdoor activities (Xia et al, 2022). The overall seropositivity of T.…”

Application of Toxoplasma gondii-specific SAG1, GRA7 and BAG1 proteins in serodiagnosis of animal toxoplasmosis

“…Moreover, the chicken’s habit of pecking the soil may lead to greater exposure to the threat of oocysts ( Wang et al., 2015 ). Certainly, in areas with the prevalence of toxoplasmosis, the definitive-host cats, especially stray cats, play a key role in frequently exposing other animals to the infectious source and causing T. gondii infections in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau ( Xia et al., 2022 ; Yang et al., 2022 ).…”

Application of gold immunochromatographic assay strip combined with digital evaluation for early detection of Toxoplasma gondii infection in multiple species

“…The global seropositivity rate for T. gondii has been estimated to be 25.7% [ 5 , 6 ]. In addition, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats and dogs varies from 4 to 40% [ 7 – 9 ] and from 10 to 70% [ 10 – 12 ], respectively. Thus, the persistence of T. gondii infection poses a significant public health concern worldwide.…”