Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Stray Cats of Gyeonggi-do, Korea

Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular zoonotic protozoan with a worldwide distribution. It infects humans as well as a broad spectrum of vertebrate hosts. Cats and wild felidae play crucial roles in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis. This study was performed to survey the prevalence of T. g...

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Published inKorean journal of parasitology Vol. 46; no. 3; pp. 199 - 201
Main Authors Kim, Hye-Youn, Kim, Yun-Ah, Kang, Seung-Won, Lee, Ho-Sa, Rhie, Ho-Gun, Ahn, Hye-Jin, Nam, Ho-Woo, Lee, Sang-Eun
Format Journal Article
LanguageKorean
Published 2008
Subjects
Toxoplasma gondii
stray cat
latex agglutination test
PCR
ELISA
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Summary:Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular zoonotic protozoan with a worldwide distribution. It infects humans as well as a broad spectrum of vertebrate hosts. Cats and wild felidae play crucial roles in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis. This study was performed to survey the prevalence of T. gondii infection among stray cats in the Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea. A total of 174 stray cat blood samples were collected from Gwacheon-si (n = 20), Bucheon-si (82), and Yangju-si (72). Positive sera for T. gondii were identified in 14 samples (8.1%) exclusively via the latex agglutination test, 28 (16.1%) via ELISA, and 23 (13.2%) via PCR analysis. The overall infection rate of female stray cats (29.2%) presented as higher than that of male cats (24.0%). This study suggests that T. gondii is widespread in the stray cat population of Gyeonggi-do, Korea. It is urgently needed to control urban stray cat population and to reduce the risk of zoonotic transmission of toxoplasmosis to other animal hosts and humans.
Bibliography:KISTI1.1003/JNL.JAKO200800557083837
ISSN:0023-4001
1738-0006