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Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Associated Risk Factors in Different Populations of Dogs from Aguascalientes, Mexico

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Abstract

Context and Purpose

This work aimed to study the seroprevalence of natural infection by T. gondii in different population segments of dogs from Aguascalientes, Mexico as well as its possible association with some risk factors.

Methods

The study included 210 clinically healthy dogs from three population segments: rural, stray and pet. A blood serum sample was collected on a single occasion and processed by indirect immunofluorescence considering a dilution of 1:16 as a positive reaction; the association between the presence of antibodies and the potential risk factors was estimated with logistic regression.

Results

The overall prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in the studied population was 59% (123/210; CI 95% 51–65) being different between population segments, in rural dogs 74% (59/80; CI 95% 62–82), in stray dogs 60% (48/80; CI 95% 48–70) and in pet dogs 32% (16/50; CI 95% 19–46), the titers of the positive sera were in a range of 1:16–1:128. In rural dogs the seroprevalence according to the municipality was in a range of 55% to 100% finding positive dogs in all the studied municipalities. The zootechnical function of guarding the property in rural dogs was identified as a risk factor (OR 2.4), while in pet dogs it was living with cats (OR 7) as well as sharing the drinking water container (OR 4); in stray dogs it was not possible to identify any risk factor.

Conclusions

This study documents the wide presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies in the population groups examined, this being more important in rural dogs.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the owners of rural and pet dogs for their collaboration. Thanks to MVZ. Jessica Flores, CCABA Director, for the facilities granted for sampling.

Funding

This work was supported by the Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes through internal research grant 14070.22-P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tecnológico Nacional de México, Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes, Km. 18 Carretera Aguascalientes-San Luis Potosí, 20330, El Llano, Aguascalientes, México

    Carlos Cruz-Vázquez, Liliana Maldonado-López, Irene Vitela-Mendoza, Leticia Medina-Esparza & Isabel de Velasco-Reyes

  2. Centro Nacional de Investigación Disciplinaria en Salud Animal e Inocuidad, INIFAP, Carretera Cuernavaca-Cuautla 8534, Col. Progreso, 62550, Jiutepec, Morelos, México

    Liliana Aguilar-Marcelino

Authors
  1. Carlos Cruz-Vázquez
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  2. Liliana Maldonado-López
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  3. Irene Vitela-Mendoza
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  4. Leticia Medina-Esparza
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  5. Liliana Aguilar-Marcelino
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  6. Isabel de Velasco-Reyes
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Contributions

Conceptualization: CCV and LME. Methodology: LML, IVM, and IVR. Formal analysis: CCV, LML, and LAM. Writing-original draft preparation: CCV, and LME. Writing-review and editing CCV, and LAM. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos Cruz-Vázquez.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

The Committee on the Use and Care of Animals of the Instituto Tecnológico El Llano Aguascalientes, the owners and authorities from CCABA approved this project (ITEL-CUCA 007/21), the same that complied with the current law for the protection of animals for the state of Aguascalientes, Mexico.

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Cruz-Vázquez, C., Maldonado-López, L., Vitela-Mendoza, I. et al. Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii Infection and Associated Risk Factors in Different Populations of Dogs from Aguascalientes, Mexico. Acta Parasit. 68, 683–689 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11686-023-00703-z

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