%0 Journal Article
%T Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in household and stray cats in Lanzhou, northwest China
%A Song-Ming Wu
%A Xing-Quan Zhu
%A Dong-Hui Zhou
%A Bao-Quan Fu
%A Jia Chen
%A Jian-Fa Yang
%A Hui-Qun Song
%A Ya-Biao Weng
%A De-He Ye
%J Parasites & Vectors
%D 2011
%I BioMed Central
%R 10.1186/1756-3305-4-214
%X A total of 221 (179 households and 42 strays) blood samples were collected from clinically healthy cats admitted to several pet hospitals located in Lanzhou City, between November 2010 and July 2011 for the serological detection of T. gondii infection. The majority (207) of these cats represented Chinese Lihua cats. 47 of 221 (21.3%) examined cats were seropositive for T. gondii infection using the modified agglutination test (MAT) at the cut-off of 1:25. The seroprevalence in household and stray cats was assessed to be 15.6% and 45.2%, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The seroprevalence ranged from 15.1% to 25.8% among different age groups, but the differences were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Studies showed that there was no relationship between seroprevalence and the gender (P > 0.05).The present survey indicated the high seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats in Lanzhou, northwest China, which poses a threat to animal and human health. Therefore, measures should be taken to control and prevent toxoplasmosis of cats in this area.Toxoplasma gondii is an obligate intracellular parasite, affecting humans and a wide range of warm-blooded animals worldwide [1-3]. T. gondii infection is a global concern, and about one third of the human population has been exposed to this parasite [1]. Toxoplasmosis is one of the most important food-borne diseases that can cause toxoplasmic encephalitis in immuno-compromised patients, blindness, abortion, fetal abnormalities or even prenatal death in congenital cases [3,4]. Humans or animals can acquire T. gondii infection post-natally by ingestion of undercooked or raw meat from infected animals, or ingestion of food or water contaminated with oocysts excreted by infected felids, or ingestion of oocysts from the environment by accident [1,5].Felids are considered the only definitive hosts of T. gondii playing a crucial role in the transmission of the parasite [6]. Cats infected by T.
%U http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/4/1/214