Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in Dogs in Shandong, Henan, and Heilongjiang Provinces, and in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China

Abstract

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection was determined in sera of 632 dogs (551 pets, 81 strays) from Shandong, Henan, and Heilongjiang Provinces, and in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China (PRC), using the indirect hemagglutination assay (cutoff titer 1∶64 or higher); 11.1% were seropositive. The seroprevalence in stray dogs and in ≥3-yr-old dogs was significantly higher (P < 0.05) than that in household dogs and in <3-yr-old dogs. There were no significant differences in terms of gender, breed, or locality (P ≥ 0.05). The results indicate that T. gondii infections are common in dogs in PRC.