Department of Veterinary Sciences, Ambo University, School of Veterinary Medicine, P. O. Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia.
Department of Veterinary Laboratory Technology, Ambo University, School of Veterinary Medicine, P. O. Box 19, Ambo, Ethiopia.
BMC Vet Res. 2021 Aug 25;17(1):284. doi: 10.1186/s12917-021-02992-w.
In urban settings, the presence of a high density of the human population and contact with domestic and/or stray animals such as dogs and cats can be risk factors for the transmission of zoonotic protozoa parasites. Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) and Leishmania spp. are zoonotic protozoon parasites with significant health burdens worldwide.
A cross-sectional study was used to investigate the antibody prevalence and risk factors of T. gondii and Leishmania spp. infections in 385 randomly selected dogs of Ambo, Bako, and Gojo towns of West Shewa Zone, Oromia regional state, Ethiopia. A questionnaire survey was administered to households to collect data on potential risk factors. Dog sera samples were assayed for T. gondii IgG antibodies using the direct agglutination test while Leishmania spp. specific antibodies tested using an indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Logistic regression was used for data analysis.
Overall, T. gondii and Leishmania spp. infection seroprevalence was found to be 82.86% (95% confidence interval (CI): 78.71-86.49%) and 92.47% (95% CI: 89.36-94.90%), respectively. Seropositivity for both T. gondii and Leishmania spp. was found in 82.58% of the dogs. None of the investigated factors were associated with Leishmania spp. seropositivity (p > 0.05). The seroprevalence of T. gondii was significantly different among the study towns (p = 0.003). The risk of T. gondii infection was 2.71 times higher in adult dogs than juvenile dogs (p = 0.043). Dogs kept simultaneously with other domestic animals had increased odds of T. gondii seropositivity compared to those with no other domestic animals (Adjusted Odds ratio: 1.96, p = 0.021). However, altitude, sex, breed, housing, feeding, educational level of head of the household, and dog's living area were not significantly associated with T. gondii seropositivity (p > 0.05).
The high seropositivity and the simultaneous presence of antibodies of T. gondii and Leishmania spp. in dogs suggest the widespread nature of these parasites in the environment and the high potential of transmission to other animals and humans. Further epidemiological studies, isolation and molecular characterization of the parasites, and educational campaigns are suggested.
在城市环境中，人口密度高，与家养和/或流浪动物（如狗和猫）接触，可能是传播人畜共患原生动物寄生虫的危险因素。刚地弓形虫（Toxoplasma gondii）和利什曼原虫属（Leishmania spp.）是具有重大全球健康负担的人畜共患原生动物寄生虫。
采用横断面研究，调查 385 只随机选择的来自埃塞俄比亚奥罗米亚州西谢瓦地区安博、巴科和戈焦镇的狗的刚地弓形虫和利什曼原虫属感染的抗体流行率和危险因素。对家庭进行问卷调查，收集潜在危险因素的数据。使用直接凝集试验检测狗血清样本中的刚地弓形虫 IgG 抗体，使用间接酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）检测利什曼原虫属特异性抗体。使用逻辑回归进行数据分析。
总体而言，刚地弓形虫和利什曼原虫属的感染血清阳性率分别为 82.86%（95%置信区间（CI）：78.71-86.49%）和 92.47%（95% CI：89.36-94.90%）。82.58%的狗同时存在刚地弓形虫和利什曼原虫属的血清阳性。在所调查的因素中，没有一个与利什曼原虫属的血清阳性率相关（p>0.05）。刚地弓形虫的血清流行率在研究城镇之间存在显著差异（p=0.003）。成年犬感染刚地弓形虫的风险比幼年犬高 2.71 倍（p=0.043）。与没有其他家养动物的狗相比，同时饲养其他家养动物的狗感染刚地弓形虫的几率更高（调整后的优势比：1.96，p=0.021）。然而，海拔、性别、品种、住房、喂养、户主的教育水平和狗的生活区域与刚地弓形虫的血清阳性率无显著相关性（p>0.05）。
狗中刚地弓形虫和利什曼原虫属抗体的高血清阳性率和同时存在表明这些寄生虫在环境中广泛存在，向其他动物和人类传播的潜力很高。建议进行进一步的流行病学研究、寄生虫的分离和分子特征分析以及教育活动。
