title: A cross-sectional survey of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in Israeli pigeons.
abstract: A cross-sectional prevalence study was performed for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) in 495 wild pigeons (Columba livia) captured from various locations in Israel. Seropositivity was found in 20/495 (4%) of the birds. Pigeon samples in regions of semi-arid climate had higher T. gondii seropositivity (p=0.033), amount of precipitation was inversely proportional to seropositivity (p=0.005), seropositivity was inversely related to the size of the nearest human community (p=0.012), and seropositivity was inversely related to the proximity of water flow (p=0.013). The study results highlight the widespread environmental contamination of T. gondii and suggest that pigeons may serve as sentinels for the environmental spread of this parasite.
authors.affiliation: Department of Parasitology, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel. tsvis@ekmd.huji.ac.il
authors.forename: Harold
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Salant
authors.forename: Daniel Yasur
authors.initials: DY
authors.lastname: Landau
authors.forename: Gad
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Baneth
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D001715:Bird Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D010856:Columbidae / Q000469:parasitology*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology; D014867:Water
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D014867:Water