Jung Bong-Kwang, Song Hyemi, Lee Sang-Eun, Kim Min-Jae, Cho Jaeeun, Shin Eun-Hee, Chai Jong-Yil
Department of Parasitology and Tropical Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul 03080, Korea.
Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Korea Association of Health Promotion, Seoul 07653, Korea.
Korean J Parasitol. 2017 Apr;55(2):203-206. doi: 10.3347/kjp.2017.55.2.203. Epub 2017 Apr 30.
The seroprevalence of human toxoplasmosis has been increasing in Korea, and it is controversial whether cats are an important infection source or not. This study was performed to evaluate the seroprevalence of infection in a high risk group (cat sitters) and to determine the possible importance of cats as an infection source in Korea. Risk factors, including the age, sex, and diet of cat sitters, their contact experience and contact frequency with stray cats, and origin, number, and outdoor activity of their pet cats, were analyzed using structured questionnaires. A total of 673 serum samples from people who have frequent contact with cats (high risk group) and 1,114 samples from general people (low risk group) were examined for specific IgG antibodies against by ELISA. The results revealed that the overall seroprevalence of infection was 7.4% (n=1,787). The seroprevalence among low risk group was 8.0% (89/1,114), whereas that among high risk group was rather lower 6.4% (43/673), though this difference was statistically not significant (=0.211). Among the risk factors, only the outdoor activity of pet cats was important; people having cats with outdoor activities revealed 2 times higher seroprevalence than people having cats with only indoor activities (=0.027). In conclusion, the seroprevalence of was not significantly different between the high risk group and low risk group, and the importance of cats as a source of infection in Korea is questionable.
韩国人类弓形虫病的血清阳性率一直在上升，猫是否为重要感染源存在争议。本研究旨在评估高危人群（养猫者）的感染血清阳性率，并确定猫作为韩国感染源的潜在重要性。使用结构化问卷分析了养猫者的年龄、性别、饮食、与流浪猫的接触经历和接触频率，以及其宠物猫的来源、数量和户外活动等危险因素。通过酶联免疫吸附测定法（ELISA）检测了673份来自经常接触猫的人群（高危组）的血清样本和1114份来自普通人群（低危组）的样本中针对弓形虫的特异性IgG抗体。结果显示，弓形虫感染的总体血清阳性率为7.4%（n = 1787）。低危组的血清阳性率为8.0%（89/1114），而高危组的血清阳性率则较低，为6.4%（43/673），尽管这一差异在统计学上不显著（P = 0.211）。在危险因素中，只有宠物猫的户外活动具有重要意义；养猫且有户外活动的人群的血清阳性率比养猫且只有室内活动的人群高2倍（P = 0.027）。总之，高危组和低危组之间弓形虫的血清阳性率无显著差异，猫作为韩国感染源的重要性值得怀疑。
