Issue |
Parasite
Volume 24, 2017
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 9 | |
Number of page(s) | 6 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/parasite/2017009 | |
Published online | 13 March 2017 |
Research Article
Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic pets from metropolitan regions of Panama
Séroprévalence de Toxoplasma gondii chez les animaux domestiques des régions métropolitaines du Panama
1
Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Panamá. Campus Harmodio Árias Madrid (Curundu), Apartado 3366, Panama 4, Panama
2
Centro de Biología Celular y Molecular de Enfermedades, Instituto de Investigaciones Científicas y Servicios de Alta Tecnología, Asociación de Interés Público (INDICASAT). Ciudad del Saber (Clayton), Apartado 0843-01103, Panama 4, Panama
3
National Research System, National Secretary of Science, Technology and Innovation (SNI-SENACYT). Ciudad del Saber (Clayton), Apartado 0816-02852, Panama 5, Panama
4
Fundación San Francisco de Asís (Fundasis), Apartado 0816-04057, Panama
5
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA
98195, USA
6
Toxoplasmosis Center, University of Chicago Medicine, 5841 South Maryland ave, Chicago, IL
60637, USA
* Corresponding author: zcaballero@indicasat.org.pa
Received:
29
January
2017
Accepted:
27
February
2017
Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease but information regarding domestic animals in Central America is scarce and fragmented. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic cats and dogs in different metropolitan regions of Panama. A total of 576 samples were collected; sera from 120 cats and 456 dogs were tested using a commercial indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The overall seroprevalence of IgG antibodies was 30.73%. There is high seroprevalence of T. gondii in cats and dogs in the metropolitan regions around the Panama Canal; however, differences between these species were not significant. Statistical analysis indicated that there are relevant variables, such as the age of animals, with a direct positive relationship with seroprevalence. None of the variables related to animal welfare (veterinary attention provided, type of dwelling, and access to green areas and drinking water) were associated with seropositivity.
Résumé
La toxoplasmose est une maladie zoonotique mondiale, mais les informations concernant les animaux domestiques d’Amérique Centrale sont rares et fragmentées. Le but de cette étude était de déterminer la séroprévalence de Toxoplasma gondii chez les chats et les chiens domestiques dans différentes régions métropolitaines de Panama. Au total, 576 échantillons ont été prélevés; des échantillons de sérum de 120 chats et 456 chiens ont été testés en utilisant un dosage ELISA. La séroprévalence globale des anticorps IgG était de 30.73 %. Nous avons trouvé une importante séroprévalence de T. gondii chez les chats et les chiens dans les régions métropolitaines autour du Canal de Panama, mais les différences entre les deux espèces n’étaient pas significatives. L’analyse statistique indique qu’il existe des variables pertinentes, comme l’âge des animaux, qui ont une relation positive avec la séroprévalence. Aucune des variables liées au bien-être des animaux (attention vétérinaire fournie, type de logement et accès aux espaces verts et à l’eau potable) n’étaient associée à la séropositivité.
Key words: Toxoplasma gondii / Seroprevalence / Dogs / Cats / Panama
© C. Rengifo-Herrera et al., published by EDP Sciences, 2017
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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