Seroprevalence and B1 gene Phylogeny of Toxoplasma gondii of Dogs and Cats in Republic of Korea

Abstract

<jats:p>The outbreak of human toxoplasmosis can be attributed to ingestion of food contaminated with Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasmosis recently increased in domestic and stray dogs and cats. It prompted studies on the zoonotic infectious diseases transmitted via these animals. Sero- and antigen prevalences of T. gondii in dogs and cats were surveyed using ELISA and PCR, and B1 gene phylogeny was analyzed in this study. Toxoplasmosis antibodies were measured on sera of 403 stray cats, 947 stray dogs, 909 domestic cats, and 2,412 domestic dogs collected at nationwide regions, Korea from 2017 to 2019. In addition, whole blood, feces, and tissue samples were also collected from stray cats (1,392), stray dogs (686), domestic cats (3,040), and domestic dogs (1,974), and T. gondii-specific B1 gene PCR was performed. Antibody prevalence of stray cats, stray dogs, domestic cats, and domestic dogs were 14.1%, 5.6%, 2.3%, and 0.04%, respectively. Antigen prevalence of these animals was 0.5%, 0.2%, 0.1%, and 0.4%, respectively. Stray cats revealed the highest infection rate of toxoplasmosis, followed by stray dogs, domestic cats, and domestic dogs. B1 gene positives were 5 of stray cats, and identified to high/moderate pathogenic Type I/III group. These findings enforce that preventive hygienic measure should be strengthened at One Health level in dogs and cats, domestic and stray, to minimize human toxoplasmosis infections.</jats:p>

Genetic Analysis of Zoonotic Gastrointestinal Protozoa and Microsporidia in Shelter Cats in South Korea

“…Further phylogenetic analyses are needed to distinguish between types I and III more clearly. In other studies, infected cats also exhibited types I, II, and III in South Korea [45,46]. Since intake of oocyst-contaminated water or food is the only effective way to get infected with T. gondii, the low prevalence of cats with T. gondii oocysts in South Korea may decrease the worry and public awareness of cats as the main cause for human transmission of toxoplasmosis [44].…”

“…Based on the virulence levels of Toxoplasma strains in outbred mice, strains were divided into three genotypes, including types I (highly virulent strain), II (less virulent strain), and III (avirulent strain) [43]. In South Korea, T. gondii has been detected in fecal samples from feral cats (0.9%, 5/563) [44] and stray cats (4.7%, 14/300) [45], blood samples from stray cats (38.9%, 28/72) [6], and blood, fecal, and tissue samples from cats (0.2%, 10/4432) [46]. Seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was reported in cat sitters (6.4%, 43/673) and people (8.0%, 89/1114) in South Korea [47].…”

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in outdoor dogs and cats in Bangkok, Thailand

“…Considering that dogs and cats can be involved in the maintenance of the urban and periurban life cycle of T. gondii, and that they usually share the same areas within cities, serological surveys in both species are the key aspect to address control strategies of this zoonotic pathogen, especially in areas where there are colonies of free-roaming dogs and cats in close contact with humans (Fábrega et al, 2020;Park et al, 2020). In fact, this health concern is reflected in various studies of T. gondii seroprevalence in dogs and cats previously conducted in several areas around the world from a One Health perspective (Rengifo-Herrera et al, 2017;Cong et al, 2018;de Oliveira et al, 2019;Park et al, 2020). In this respect, serological survey studies provide valuable information that allows us to know the contact of host species with T. gondii and, indirectly, to interpret the epidemiological risk that the presence of these animals implies for the human population (Ding et al, 2017).…”

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Measured by Western Blot, ELISA and DNA Analysis, by PCR, in Cats of Western Mexico

“…In our study, PCR analysis of the Toxoplasma B1 gene was found only in two samples (0.7%) that were positive for B1. However, this result is not without precedent; in a study in Korea, 1312 samples of cat blood were analysed using the same B1 gene with PCR method, identifying only five positive samples [15]. The two samples positive by PCR were also positive by Western blot; this is possibly due to tachyzoites in blood by acute infection and low sensitivity of PCR [15,16].…”