Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Cats From St. Kitts, West Indies

Abstract

The prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii was determined in sera from 106 domestic cats from St. Kitts, West Indies. Using a modified agglutination test, antibodies to this parasite were found in 90 (84.9%) of the cats, with titers of 1:20 in 23 cats, 1:40 in 34 cats, 1:80 in 18 cats, 1:160 in 2 cats, 1:320 in 1 cat, and 1:1,280 or higher in 11 cats. This is the first report of the prevalence of T. gondii infections in cats on St. Kitts and suggests widespread contamination of the environment with oocysts.

Soroepidemiologia de Toxoplasma gondii em gatos domiciliados atendidos em clínicas particulares de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

“…LUCAS et al (1999) confirmam esse fato, quando relatam que gatos domiciliados com livre acesso à rua têm oportunidade de caçar pequenas presas, ficando mais suscetíveis à infecção pelo parasito que aqueles que vivem exclusivamente dentro do domicílio. MOURA et al (2007) sugerem em seus estudos a importância do meio ambiente contaminado por oocistos de T. gondii. Esse ambiente serve de fonte de contaminação para seres humanos e animais que o frequentam.…”

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in small ruminants from four Caribbean islands

“…A survey of cats in Grenada indicated that 31% of domestic cats, and 28% of feral cats had antibodies to T. gondii [ 22 ]. Studies in St. Kitts and Nevis have demonstrated that 85% of domestic cats [ 23 ] and 74% of feral cats [ 24 ] have antibodies to T. gondii. Since ingestion of oocysts from contaminated pasture, feed or water is the main route of transmission for herbivores, the high prevalence reported in the present study suggests that the farms on which the animals were sampled had cats on the premises at some point.…”

Serosurvey for Brucella spp. and Coxiella burnetii in animals on Caribbean islands

“…Approval for this study was obtained from the IACUC of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, St. Kitts. Convenience samples of sera from apparently healthy adult cattle, sheep, goats and cats were obtained as described previously (Kelly et al, ; Moura, Kelly, Krecek, & Dubey, ) and stored at −20°C until use. Antibodies to B. abortus in the cattle sera/plasma were detected with the Porquier ELISA Brucellosis Individual and Pool Serum Screening Kit according to the manufacturer's instructions (Institut Pourquier).…”

“…Approval for this study was obtained from the IACUC of Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine, St. Kitts. Convenience samples of sera from apparently healthy adult cattle, sheep, goats and cats were obtained as described previously (Kelly et al, 2010;Moura, Kelly, Krecek, & Dubey, 2007) and stored at −20°C until use. Some of the sera were also tested for IgG antibodies to phase II C. burnetii using an indirect fluorescent antibody test as described previously (Kelly, Matthewman, Mason, & Raoult, 1993).…”