Lopes Ana Patrícia, Oliveira Ana Cristina, Granada Sara, Rodrigues Filipa T, Papadopoulos Elias, Schallig Henk, Dubey Jitender P, Cardoso Luís
Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro - UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal; Animal and Veterinary Research Centre - CECAV, UTAD, Vila Real, Portugal.
Clínica Casa dos Animais, Luanda, Angola.
Vet Parasitol. 2017 May 30;239:15-18. doi: 10.1016/j.vetpar.2017.04.009. Epub 2017 Apr 12.
Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania spp. are zoonotic protozoa of importance to animal and public health. The present study aimed to assess for the first time the seroprevalence of these zoonotic parasites in a domestic feline population living in Luanda, Angola. One hundred and two cats were sampled at a veterinary medical centre, from May 2014 to February 2016. The age of the cats ranged from 2.5 to 143 months (median: 12 months; interquartile range: 7.5-24). Serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G antibodies to T. gondii at two-fold dilutions of 1:20 to 1:2560 with a modified agglutination test (MAT) commercial kit. The direct agglutination test (DAT) for titration of IgG antibodies specific to Leishmania spp. used a standard freeze-dried antigen at a concentration of 5×10 promastigotes per milliliter, following a predefined protocol. Two-fold dilution series ranging from 1:25 to 1:800 were tested, with a cut-off titre of 100 chosen for seropositivity. Four out of 102 cats (3.9%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.1-9.7) had antibodies to T. gondii: one had a titer of 20, one a titer of 160, and two had a titer≥2560. No cat (0.0%; CI: 0.0-3.5) was found seropositive for Leishmania spp. A statistically significant difference was found between T. gondii seroprevalence and Leishmania spp. seroprevalence (p=0.043). The odds of a cat being seropositive to T. gondii increased by an average factor of 1.58 for each 1-year increase in age (p=0.003). The sampled cats were well-cared animals and may not represent the overall feline population of Angola at the national and city levels. The fact that only 12 out of the 102 sampled cats ate or had access to raw or undercooked meat and/or viscera may have reduced the likelihood of finding seropositive results. Under these circumstances, additional studies, including a larger number of cats, are necessary for a more comprehensive assessment of the zoonotic risk posed by these animals in Angola.
刚地弓形虫和利什曼原虫属是对动物和公共卫生具有重要意义的人畜共患原生动物。本研究旨在首次评估安哥拉罗安达市家猫群体中这些人畜共患寄生虫的血清阳性率。2014年5月至2016年2月期间，在一家兽医医疗中心对102只猫进行了采样。这些猫的年龄在2.5个月至143个月之间（中位数：12个月；四分位间距：7.5 - 24个月）。血清样本采用改良凝集试验（MAT）商业试剂盒，以1:20至1:2560的二倍稀释度检测针对刚地弓形虫的免疫球蛋白（Ig）G抗体。用于滴定利什曼原虫属特异性IgG抗体的直接凝集试验（DAT），按照预定义方案，使用浓度为每毫升5×10前鞭毛体的标准冻干抗原。检测了1:25至1:800的二倍稀释系列，选择100的滴度作为血清阳性的临界值。102只猫中有4只（3.9%；95%置信区间[CI]：1.1 - 9.7）对刚地弓形虫有抗体：1只滴度为20，1只滴度为160，2只滴度≥2560。未发现猫（0.0%；CI：0.0 - 3.5）对利什曼原虫属血清阳性。刚地弓形虫血清阳性率和利什曼原虫属血清阳性率之间存在统计学显著差异（p = 0.043）。猫对刚地弓形虫血清阳性的几率随年龄每增加1岁平均增加1.58倍（p = 0.003）。所采样的猫是得到良好照料的动物，可能无法代表安哥拉全国和城市层面的总体猫群。在102只采样猫中只有12只食用或能够接触到生的或未煮熟的肉和/或内脏，这一事实可能降低了发现血清阳性结果的可能性。在这种情况下，需要进行更多研究，包括纳入更多数量的猫，以便更全面地评估这些动物在安哥拉构成的人畜共患风险。
