title: Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infection of cats in Hungary.
abstract: Blood samples were collected from 330 cats in Hungary in order to evaluate their seroconversion to Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum using the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT). The overall prevalence of toxoplasmosis was 47.6%, the prevalence being 22.4% among urban, 50% among suburban and 61.3% among rural animals. Significantly more cats had high IFAT titres (1:640 to 1:5120) in the countryside. Female cats were more frequently infected with T. gondii than males (53.3% vs. 39.3%), and seropositivity increased with the age of animals. The prevalence (0.6%) and titre (1:40) of antibodies to N. caninum was low. Sixty-two cats were also screened for seroconversion to feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) virus. Higher titres to T. gondii were more frequently detected among FIP-positive cats, but this difference was non-significant due to the small number of cats with concurrent infection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology and Zoology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Szent István University, H-1078 Budapest, István u. 2, Hungary. Hornok.Sandor@aotk.szie.hu
authors.forename: Sándor
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hornok
authors.forename: Renate
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Edelhofer
authors.forename: Anja
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Joachim
authors.forename: Róbert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farkas
authors.forename: Krisztián
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Berta
authors.forename: Attila
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Répási
authors.forename: Béla
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Lakatos
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D002415:Cats; D003048:Coccidiosis / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006814:Hungary / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D018688:Neospora / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology*