title: Seroprevalence and risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii in Tibetan Sheep in Gansu province, Northwestern China.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite, infects almost all warm-blooded animals and humans. Limited information is available about T. gondii infection in Tibetan Sheep in Gansu province, northwestern China. In the present study, we estimated the seroprevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection in this region of China.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 1732 Tibetan Sheep were included from Tianzhu and Maqu in Gansu province. Antibodies to T. gondii were examined by modified agglutination test (MAT), and 352 (20.3%) out of 1732 Tibetan sheep were found positive. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze the risk factors associated with seroprevalence, the results showed that age, gender, and numbers of past pregnancies were not the significant risk factors. However, Tibetan sheep in Maqu had a 1.64 times (odds ratio [OR] =1.637, 95% CI =1.291-2.075, P < 0.001) higher seroprevalence compared to Tianzhu, and the seropositivity in summer were 1.61 times (OR =1.608, 95% CI =1.122-2.303, P = 0.010) higher compared to Tibetan sheep in winter, followed by 1.42 times (OR =1.419, 95% CI =1.002-2.011, P = 0.049) in spring. Thus, season and location were considered as risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in this study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first report of T. gondii seroprevalence in Tibetan sheep in Gansu province, which enriches the epidemiological data of T. gondii infection in Tibetan sheep in China. The results of this study indicate that Tibetan sheep in Gansu province are frequently exposed to T. gondii, posing a direct threat to the public health as well as to local sheep industry. These data is useful to strengthen future prevention and control of T. gondii infection in Tibetan sheep in this region.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. yin_mingyang@163.com.|College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, Hunan province, 410128, RR China. yin_mingyang@163.com.
authors.forename: Ming-Yang
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. wangjinlei90@126.com.
authors.forename: Jin-Lei
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. siyang.huang@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Si-Yang
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. qinsiyuan0303@126.com.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin province, 130118, PR China. qinsiyuan0303@126.com.
authors.forename: Si-Yuan
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. donghui822002@163.com.
authors.forename: Dong-Hui
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. 949759885@qq.com.
authors.forename: Guang-Xue
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui province, 230036, PR China. 304705703@qq.com.
authors.forename: Qi-Dong
authors.initials: QD
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Veterinary Etiological Biology, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu province, 730046, PR China. xingquanzhu1@hotmail.com.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, Jilin province, 130118, PR China. xingquanzhu1@hotmail.com.|College of Animal Science and Technology, Anhui Agricultural University, Hefei, Anhui province, 230036, PR China. xingquanzhu1@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Xing-Quan
authors.initials: XQ
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D000818:Animals; D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012756:Sheep / Q000469:parasitology; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology; D014122:Toxoplasma; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000469:parasitology