title: Seroprevalence and spatial distribution of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats, dogs, pigs and equines of the Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil.
abstract: Little is known about toxoplasmosis in animals of the Fernando de Noronha Island, Brazil. Therefore, we investigated the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in the total population of pet cats (n=348), dogs (n=320), pigs (n=27), equines (n=101), as well as a significant portion of the population of feral cats (n=247) of the Island by Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test. Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 71.26%, 54.74%, 48.75%, 51.85% and 22.7%, of the pet and feral cats, dogs, pigs and equines, respectively, demonstrating a high prevalence of T. gondii infection in the wild and domestic animals of the Island. The Kernel intensity estimator showed a correlation between areas with high prevalence of infection in cats and occurrence of infection in the other studied species. We suggest that the island's health authorities should develop initiatives to reduce the population of cats and alert the island's population about the risk of T. gondii infection.
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Vigilância em Saúde do Distrito de Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fernando J R
authors.initials: FJR
authors.lastname: Magalhães
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Müller
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ribeiro-Andrade
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Vigilância em Saúde do Distrito de Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fátima M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.affiliation: Unidade de Vigilância em Saúde do Distrito de Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos D F
authors.initials: CDF
authors.lastname: Lima Filho
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Curitiba, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alexander Welker
authors.initials: AW
authors.lastname: Biondo
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Odilon
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Vidotto
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Estadual de Londrina, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
authors.forename: Italmar Teodorico
authors.initials: IT
authors.lastname: Navarro
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Electronic address: rinaldo.mota@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Rinaldo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D002415:Cats / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D004285:Dogs / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D006736:Horses / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D062312:Islands; D057805:Pets / Q000469:parasitology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D013552:Swine / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D013553:Swine Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000097:blood / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan
keywords: Animal toxoplasmosis; Fernando de Noronha Island; Serology