Abstract:
Toxoplasma gondii is a major neglected parasitic infection occurring in settings of extreme
poverty in Africa. Apart from causing reproductive failure in animals it is also a significant
zoonotic concern. The objective of this study was to determine the seroprevalence and
associated risk factors of T. gondii infection in cats, chickens, goats, sheep and pigs in the
southeast of South Africa, of which little is known. Sera was obtained from 601 domestic
animals including 109 cats, 137 chickens, 128 goats, 121 sheep and 106 pigs managed under
different production systems in different agro-ecological regions and evaluated by the
Toxoreagent, a latex agglutination test for T. gondii antibody detection. Household-level and
animal-level data were collected by interviewing animal owners and/or herders using a
closed-ended questionnaire. The study revealed an overall farm seroprevalence of
83.33% (125/150 farms) with the highest rate of infection for the parasite found in sheep
with 64.46% (78/121), followed by goats with 53.91% (69/128), pigs with 33.96% (36/106), cats
with 32.11% (35/109 cats) and chickens with 33.58% (46/137). The risk factors that were found
to be statistically significant (p < 0.05) to different species of seropositivites were age, location,
climate, animal production system, rodent control, seropositive cat, cat-feed access and cat
faecal disposal. The relatively high seroprevalence of T. gondii detected in this region suggests
that domestic animals may pose a substantial public health risk through the consumption of
T. gondii-infected raw meat as well as via contact with cat faeces.
