Abstract
Toxoplasmosis, caused by Toxoplasma gondii, is a worldwide zoonosis. The aim of the present study was to detect the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection and associated risk factors among Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in China. Blood samples from 112 Siberian tigers and 22 giant pandas were tested for immunoglobulin G (IgG) against T. gondii by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seroprevalence of T. gondii infection was 7.14% among Siberian tigers and 9.09% among giant pandas. No risk factors were found to be significantly associated with seroprevalence (P > 0.05). This is the first study to evaluate T. gondii infection in Siberian tigers on a large scale in China, and it also updates the information regarding the positivity rate of T. gondii infection among giant pandas in China.
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Funding
This work was supported by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of China (grant numbers No. 2572022AW17) and the grants of Surveillance of Wildlife Diseases from the State Forestry Administration of China (2019076017).
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Hetong Liu, Linhua Deng, and Haitao Xu designed and carried out the experiment. Yajun Wang, Lihong Tian, and Yaxian Lu collected and analyzed the data. Hetong Liu, Zhijun Hou, Hongliang Chai, and Qquan Liu drafted the manuscript. Zhijun Hou, Xiaoyu Zhou, and Linhua Deng conceived the project. All the authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
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We declare that the samples used in this study were only blood samples collected by the staff of Heilongjiang Siberian Tiger and Dujiangyan Giant Panda Park, and no animals were hurt or dead during the study. There is no conflict of interest with species conservation guidelines. All experimental designs and animal handling were approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Northeast Forestry University (2022WPE08).
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Liu, H., Deng, L., Xu, H. et al. Seroprevalence and risk factor analysis of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Siberian tigers (Panthera tigris altaica) and giant pandas (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in China. Parasitol Res 122, 493–496 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07747-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-022-07747-6