Afonso Eve, Germain Estelle, Poulle Marie-Lazarine, Ruette Sandrine, Devillard Sébastien, Say Ludovic, Villena Isabelle, Aubert Dominique, Gilot-Fromont Emmanuelle
Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR 5558, 43 bd du 11 novembre 1918, 69622 Villeurbanne Cedex, France.
CROC, Carnivores Recherche Observation Communication, 57590 Fonteny, France.
Int J Parasitol Parasites Wildl. 2013 Sep 23;2:278-85. doi: 10.1016/j.ijppaw.2013.09.006. eCollection 2013 Dec.
Toxoplasmosis is a major zoonosis, and its prevention requires multiple approaches due to the complex life-cycle of its causative agent, Toxoplasma gondii. Environmental contamination by oocysts is a key factor in the transmission of T. gondii to both humans and meat-producing animals; however, its spatial and temporal variations are poorly understood. We analysed the distribution of T. gondii seropositivity in a sample of 210 cats, including the European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris), the domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) and their hybrids that were collected in Central and Eastern France between 1996 and 2006. We searched for spatial variability among communes and temporal variations among years to relate this variability to landscape and meteorological conditions, which can affect the population dynamics of rodent hosts and the survival of oocysts. The overall seroprevalence was 65.2% (95% CI: 58.6-71.4). As expected, adults were more often infected than young individuals, while the occurrence of infection was not related to cat genotypes. Seroprevalence correlated significantly with farm density and the North-Atlantic Oscillation index, which describes temporal variations of meteorological conditions at the continental scale. The highest seroprevalence values were obtained in areas with high farm densities and during years with cool and moist winters. These results suggest that both farming areas and years with cool and wet winters are associated with increased T. gondii seroprevalence in cats. As cat infection determines the environmental contamination by oocysts, climate and landscape characteristics should be taken into account to improve the risk analysis and prevention of T. gondii.
弓形虫病是一种主要的人畜共患病，由于其病原体刚地弓形虫的生命周期复杂，其预防需要多种方法。卵囊对环境的污染是刚地弓形虫传播给人类和肉类生产动物的关键因素；然而，人们对其时空变化了解甚少。我们分析了210只猫样本中弓形虫血清阳性的分布情况，这些猫包括欧洲野猫（Felis silvestris silvestris）、家猫（Felis silvestris catus）及其杂交种，于1996年至2006年在法国中部和东部采集。我们寻找公社之间的空间变异性和年份之间的时间变异性，以将这种变异性与景观和气象条件联系起来，这些条件会影响啮齿动物宿主的种群动态和卵囊的存活。总体血清阳性率为65.2%（95%置信区间：58.6 - 71.4）。正如预期的那样，成年猫比幼年猫更容易感染，而感染的发生与猫的基因型无关。血清阳性率与农场密度和北大西洋涛动指数显著相关，该指数描述了大陆尺度气象条件的时间变化。在农场密度高的地区以及冬季凉爽潮湿的年份，血清阳性率最高。这些结果表明，农业种植区和冬季凉爽潮湿的年份都与猫体内刚地弓形虫血清阳性率的增加有关。由于猫的感染决定了卵囊对环境的污染，因此在改进刚地弓形虫的风险分析和预防时应考虑气候和景观特征。
