An Antibody-Based Survey of <i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Neospora caninum</i> Infection in Client-Owned Cats from Portugal
2023
Maria Aires Pereira | Carmen Nóbrega | Teresa L. Mateus | Daniela Almeida | Andreia Oliveira | Catarina Coelho | Rita Cruz | Paula Oliveira | Ana Faustino-Rocha | Maria J. Pires | João R. Mesquita | Helena Vala
<i>Toxoplasma gondii</i> and <i>Neospora caninum</i> are obligate intracellular protozoan parasites infecting a wide range of hosts worldwide. However, information on the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis and neosporosis in cats from Portugal is limited. Thus, this study aims to evaluate anti-<i>T. gondii</i> and anti-<i>N. caninum</i> seroprevalence in client-owned cats from Portugal and to identify risk factors using a panel of well-characterized sera. A total of 183 domestic cats were sampled and screened for antibodies against <i>T. gondii</i> and <i>N. caninum</i> using commercial ELISA assays, and their owners answered an online questionnaire designed to obtain background information. The overall anti-<i>T. gondii</i> and anti-<i>N. caninum</i> seroprevalences were 13.1% (CI: 8.97–18.77) and 3.8% (CI: 1.87–7.68), respectively. Univariate analysis revealed that living strictly indoors was a significant protection factor (cOR: 0.053; CI: 0.005–0.627), and the presence of a chronic disease a significant risk factor (cOR: 3.106; CI: 1.062–9.082) to <i>T. gondii</i> seroprevalence. When performing multivariate analysis, only chronic disease (aOR: 57.527; CI: 1.7–1976.7) and seropositivity to <i>N. caninum</i> (aOR: 7.929; CI:0.8–82.9) were found to be a significant risk factor to anti-<i>T. gondii</i> antibodies. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of <i>N. caninum</i> seropositivity in cats from Portugal.
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