and Antibodies in Dogs and Cats from Egypt and Risk Factor Analysis.

BACKGROUND

and are major protozoan parasites of worldwide distribution and significance in veterinary medicine and, for , in public health. Cats and dogs, as final hosts for and respectively, have a key function in environmental contamination with oocysts and, thus, in parasite transmission. Very little is known about the prevalence of infections in dogs and cats in Egypt, and even less about the prevalence of in the same hosts.

METHODS

In the current study, 223 serum samples of both dogs (n = 172) and cats (n = 51) were investigated for specific antibodies to and using commercially available ELISAs. A risk factor analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with seropositivity.

RESULTS & DISCUSSION: Exposure to was reported in 23.3% of the dogs and in 9.8% of the cats, respectively. In addition, -specific antibodies were recorded in 5.8% of dogs and in 3.4% of cats. A mixed infection was found in two dogs (1.2%) and in one cat (2%). Antibodies to in dogs were significantly more frequent in dogs aged 3 years or more and in male German Shepherds. As this breed is often used as watchdogs and was the most sampled breed in Alexandria governorate, the purpose "watchdog" (compared to "stray" or "companion"), the male sex, and the governorate "Alexandria" also had a significantly higher seroprevalence for . No factors associated with antibodies to could be identified in dogs, and no significant factors were determined in cats for either or infection. Our study substantially adds to the knowledge of infection in dogs and cats and presents data on infection in cats for the first and in dogs in Egypt for the second time.