title: Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in dogs from northeastern Portugal.
abstract: Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii was investigated in 673 domestic dogs from northeastern Portugal, using the modified agglutination test (MAT) with 1 : 20 as cutoff for seropositivity; antibodies were found in 256 dogs (38.0%). Differences between seroprevalence levels in males (36.7%) and females (41.8%) and between pure-breed (42.1%) and mixed-breed dogs (35.2%) were not statistically significant. Multiple logistic regression analysis identified age above 12 mo (odds ratio [OR]  =  4.0), chance of eating birds or small mammals (OR  =  4.0), housing exclusively outdoors (OR  =  1.5), home-cooked meals (OR  =  3.0), and eating raw meat or viscera (OR  =  7.7) as risk factors for the canine T. gondii infection. Some control measures are suggested based on these findings.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, P.O. Box 1013, 5001-801 Vila Real, Portugal.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Lopes
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Neto
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.forename: O C H
authors.initials: OC
authors.lastname: Kwok
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dubey
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cardoso
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D000821:Animal Feed / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D006799:Housing, Animal; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D011174:Portugal / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D007074:Immunoglobulin G