Vet World Vol.15 July-2022 Article-24
Research Article
Veterinary World, 15(7): 1779-1784
https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2022.1779-1784
Serological survey of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats in Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand
2. Division of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University 40002, Thailand.
3. Division of Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University 40002, Thailand.
4. Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen 40002, Thailand.
5. Division of Theriogenology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Khon Kaen University 40002, Thailand.
Background and Aim: Toxoplasmosis is a zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii. Cats are known to be the definitive hosts that can excrete these environmentally resistant oocysts. Other mammals, avians, and even humans can serve as the intermediate host. T. gondii infection is often asymptomatic in healthy individuals; however, it could result in serious health problems in immunocompromised and pregnant individuals. This study investigated the occurrence of T. gondii infection in cats in Khao Suan Kwang and Mueang Khon Kaen.
Materials and Methods: In total, 100 serum samples from cats, that is, 62 owned cats (31 males and 31 females) and 38 adopted stray cats (21 males and 17 females), were examined for antibodies against T. gondii through rapid immunochromatographic tests (ICT). Owners were asked to sign a consent form and answer the questionnaires before sample collection. Demographic information about the cats and their owners was also recorded.
Results: The overall seroprevalence of cats positive for T. gondii antibodies was found to be 5%. Notably, the Toxoplasma antibody prevalence was significantly higher in the adopted stray cats (10.53% [4/38]) that roamed the zoo than in the owned cats (1.61% [1/62]) (p > 0.05). No significant difference was observed between male (8.33%) and female (1.92%) cats. The cat owners' questionnaire revealed that more than half had never heard of toxoplasmosis before (67.7%), whereas 30.6% knew nothing about the disease transmission routes.
Conclusion: This study presented a low seroprevalence of antibodies to T. gondii in owned cats from the Mueang Khon Kaen District, whereas high seroprevalence was detected in the adopted stray cats from Khao Suan Kwang. Adopted stray cats can have a higher potential for T. gondii infection; thus, they could be a source of toxoplasmosis transmission to humans. Therefore, it is essential to control the number of stray cats, and a screening test for antitoxoplasmosis could be recommended before adoption. Although the total seroprevalence was noted to be low, the zoonotic disease was present. Therefore, raising the community's awareness and knowledge might reduce the disease transmission from animals to humans. Keywords: adopted stray cat, feline, Khon Kaen, toxoplasmosis, zoonoses.
Keywords: adopted stray cat, feline, Khon Kaen, toxoplasmosis, zoonoses.
How to cite this article: Lakhamsen N, Chaisongkhram C, Pattarasuplerk Y, Macotpet A, Seesupa S, Lertitthikul N, Bupata P, Kunkitti P (2022) Serological survey of Toxoplasma gondii infection in cats in Khon Kaen, Northeast Thailand, Veterinary World, 15(7): 1779–1784.
Received: 28-02-2022 Accepted: 07-06-2022 Published online: 25-07-2022
Corresponding author: Panisara Kunkitti E-mail: panisaraku@kku.ac.th
DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2022.1779-1784
Copyright: Lakhamsen, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.