333639

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Toxoplasma gondii Infection at the Cat-Human Interface in Gharbia Governorate, Nile Delta, Egypt

Article

Last updated: 01 Jan 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Veterinary Parasitology & Microbiology

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii oocyst (Tgo) shedding among cats and T. gondii recent infection among pregnant women in Gharbia Governorate, Nile Delta, Egypt, to assess T. gondii infection at the cat-human interface. Copro-PCR, targeting the B1 gene, showed that 22.7% (384/1,694) of the examined cats were shedding Tgo. The prevalence rates among stray and pet cats were 27.8%, and 6.8%, respectively; stray cats were 4.08 times more likely to shed Tgo than pet cats. Among stray cats, the odds of Tgo shedding were higher in feral cats feeding on wet market garbage than in semiferal cats that received daily meals from some households in the region (odds ratio (OR) 32.4; P < 0.001). For pet cats, access to kitchens and outdoors were risk factors for Tg infection (OR: 4.9–12.1; P < 0.001 - 0.046), whereas routine checkups at vets were a protective practice (OR: 0.3; P 0.03). The seroprevalence of T. gondii recent infection (positive for anti-T. gondii IgM) among pregnant women was 8.8% (35/400). Only 47.9% of pet owners knew that cats could transmit zoonotic pathogens to humans, whereas 35.7% had heard about toxoplasmosis. Pet owners who did not wear gloves while removing cat excreta and those with actively infected cats were 8.4 and 18.7 times more at risk of contracting T. gondii infection than other pet owners (P <0.05). Garbage hygienic disposal at wet markets, stray cat sheltering and health education for pet owners are compelling measures for preventing toxoplasmosis in Egypt.

DOI

10.21608/ejvs.2023.242610.1641

Keywords

toxoplasma gondii, Oocyst shedding, Stray cat, Pet cat, Pregnant women

Authors

First Name

Walid

Last Name

Elmonir

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Hygiene and Preventive Medicine Department (Zoonoses), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt.

Email

walid_elmonir@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Ibrahim

Last Name

Mabrouk

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Hygiene and Preventive Medicine Department (Zoonoses), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt.

Email

radiali_2007@yahoo.co.uk

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Radi

Last Name

Mohamed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Aquaculture, Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences

Email

r.mohamed.vet@gmail.com

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Wael

Last Name

El-Tras

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Aquaculture Department, Faculty of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt

Email

wael.eltras@vet.kfs.edu.eg

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Yamen

Last Name

Hegazy

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Animal Medicine Department (Infectious diseases), Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafrelsheikh, Egypt

Email

yamen12@yahoo.com

City

-

Orcid

-

Volume

54

Article Issue

7

Related Issue

43917

Issue Date

2023-12-01

Receive Date

2023-10-14

Publish Date

2023-12-01

Page Start

273

Page End

284

Print ISSN

1110-0222

Online ISSN

2357-089X

Link

https://ejvs.journals.ekb.eg/article_333639.html

Detail API

https://ejvs.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=333639

Order

333,639

Type

Original Article

Type Code

140

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Publication Link

https://ejvs.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Prevalence and Risk Factors for Toxoplasma gondii Infection at the Cat-Human Interface in Gharbia Governorate, Nile Delta, Egypt

Details

Type

Article

Created At

23 Dec 2024