1Medical School, Nanjing University, 72 Guangzhou Road, Nanjing, 210008, People's Republic of China
2College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
3Laboratory of Detection and Monitoring of Highland Animal Disease, Tibet Agriculture and Animal Husbandry College, Linzhi, 860000, Tibet, People's Republic of China
College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, 430070, People's Republic of China
*Corresponding author's e-mail: lijk210@sina.com
First two authors contributed equally to this study
Present study was an epidemiological survey for seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) infection in pet dogs (n= 279) in Wuhan, Huazhong area of China, using indirect hemagglutination test (IHA). Overall seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in this area was 13.3 per cent. The prevalence in males and females was 13.4 and 13.0%, there was no significant difference (P>0.05) between the genders. The prevalence of T. gondii infection was 12.7, 14.0, 13.3 and 12.7% in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. There was a significant difference (P<0.05) in seroprevalence in age of pet dogs. Highest prevalence was found in older age as compared to young age pet dogs, With a prevelance rate of 7.6% in less than 1 year age dogs, and 16.7, 21.2 and 20.8%, between 1–3, 3–5 and 5 years and above, respectively. In different food spectrum (commercial dog food, combined dog food and homemade food), the prevalence of T. gondii infection is 11.4%, 13.7% and 14.5%, respectively. The seroprevalence in different breeds is ranged from 0 to 100.00%. We found T. gondii infection in pet dogs in Wuhan, which can adversely affect community health in this region. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the prevalence of T. gondii infection in pet dogs in Wuhan.
IHA, Pet dogs, Seroprevalence, Toxoplasma gondii, Wuhan
