title: Risk factors of Toxoplasma gondii infection in hunting, pet and watchdogs from southern Spain and northern Africa.
abstract: Dogs can act as reservoirs of Toxoplasma gondii infections for humans and other hosts. Here we determined seroprevalence and risk factors of T. gondii infection in dogs from Andalusia (Southern Spain) and Ceuta (Northern Africa). Antibodies to T. gondii were detected in 235 out of 769 dogs (30.6%; CI95%: 27.3-33.8) by the modified agglutination test (MAT, cut-off of 1:25) with titers of 1:25 in 91, 1:50 in 43, 1:100 in 84, and ≥1:500 in 17 dogs. The main risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in dogs were age (higher seroprevalence in older dogs), hunter activity and size (higher seroprevalence in larger and medium dogs). This is the first study on T. gondii infection in pet dogs from Spain and Ceuta. The results indicate that T. gondii is widespread in dogs in mainland Spain and Ceuta, which might have important implications for public health.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cano-Terriza
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Puig-Ribas
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Saúl
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Jiménez-Ruiz
authors.affiliation: Servei d'Ecopatologia de Fauna Salvatge, Departament de Medicina i Cirurgia Animals, Facultat de Veterinaria, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain; Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Óscar
authors.initials: Ó
authors.lastname: Cabezón
authors.affiliation: Centre de Recerca en Sanitat Animal (CReSA), Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA), Campus de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Departament de Sanitat i d'Anatomia Animals, Facultat de Veterinària, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193 Bellaterra, Spain.
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Almería
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain.
authors.forename: Ángela
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Galán-Relaño
authors.affiliation: Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agriculture Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
authors.forename: Jitender P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Dubey
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba-Agrifood Excellence International Campus (ceiA3), 14071 Córdoba, Spain. Electronic address: nacho.garcia@uco.es.
authors.forename: Ignacio
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: García-Bocanegra
mesh_terms: D000352:Africa, Northern / Q000453:epidemiology; D000372:Agglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary*; D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology / Q000635:transmission
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: Dogs; Risk factors; Seroprevalence; Toxoplasma gondii