Toxoplasmosis in saharawi camps: seroprevalence in cats

The aim of this study was to investigate the T. gondii antibodies prevalence in a group of cats circulating in Saharawi refugee camps, in order to suggest the origin of the human infection. During autumn 2010, a total of 47 blood samples have been collected from cats of different ages and sex. Serum, obtained by centrifugation (1500g/10min) was stocked at -20°C. All the sera were examined for T. gondii specific antibodies (IgM and IgG) by an Indirect Fluorescent Antibody Test (IFAT) using a commercial antigen (Mega Cor Diagnostik, Horbranz, Osterreich) and anti-feline-specific IgG labeled with fluorescein isothiocyanate as conjugates (Sigma Immunochemicals, St Luis, MO, USA). Furthermore to evaluate the impact of immunosuppressive retroviruses, all serum samples were also tested for Felv antigen and FIV antibodies using a commercial rapid assay kit (SNAP FIV Antibody/Felv Antigen Combo Test: IDEXX Laboratories, Westbrook, ME, USA). The overall data were statistically analyzed.In our study the 34.04% of cats tested positive both for IgG and IgM. This finding could be attributed to a recent or active infection as well as to a parasitic reactivation linked to immunosuppressive condition i.e, retroviral infection (2/47; 4.25%) (Lappin MR et al., 2010, Top Companion Anim Med, 25(3):136-41). The results obtained applying different serological techniques showed an overall concordance of 97.93%, suggesting that all the tests screened might be useful for toxoplasmosis serological screening in cats. With regard to risk factors for T. gondii infection for Saharawi population, the climatic condition of the desert are not compatible with the consumption of raw or undercooked meat and vegetables, important sources of infection for human.