Seroprevalence of IgG and IgM Antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in Dogs in Greece

• Published in: Veterinary sciences Vol. 11; no. 8; p. 339
• Main Authors: Sioutas, Georgios, Gelasakis, Athanasios I, Symeonidou, Isaia, Tsokana, Constantina N, Alevizos, Panagiotis, Bitchava, Dimitra, Papadopoulos, Elias
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 27-07-2024; MDPI
• Subjects: Antibodies; Asymptomatic; Cats; Communication; Contamination; Dogs; Geographical distribution; Greece; Health aspects; Hygiene; IFAT; IgG; IgM; Immunoglobulin G; Immunoglobulin M; Infections; Investigations; Oocysts; Parasites; Protozoa; Public health; Risk factors; Rural areas; Serology; Toxoplasma gondii; Toxoplasmosis; Urban areas; Zoonoses; Greece; St Louis Missouri; United States > US; Greece; IFAT; Toxoplasma gondii; toxoplasmosis; rural environment; IgG; dogs; seroprevalence; IgM; public health
• ISSN: 2306-7381; 2306-7381
• DOI: 10.3390/vetsci11080339

Toxoplasmosis, caused by the protozoan
, is a zoonotic disease that affects various animal species, including dogs, that can serve as sentinels for indirectly estimating the environmental contamination. The current study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of
IgG and IgM antibodies in dogs across different regions of Greece and assess their living area as a potential risk factor. In total, 1282 blood samples were collected from dogs in urban and rural areas of Greece, including Attica and Thessaloniki. Serum samples were tested for
-specific IgG and IgM antibodies using an indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. A chi-square test was performed to assess the association between seropositivity for
and geographical location (urban/rural). The overall
seroprevalence was 47.6%, while the seroprevalence of IgG and IgM antibodies was 34.3% and 22.2%, respectively. Dogs from rural areas exhibited a significantly higher seroprevalence (53.8%) than those from urban areas (43.9%) (
< 0.001), with the estimated odds ratio being equal to 1.49 (95% CI, 1.18 to 1.65) and the relative risk increased by 22.4%. Dogs in Greece are highly exposed to
, particularly in rural areas. Measures to prevent canine infections are necessary, and basic hygiene practices, such as hand washing after petting dogs, are required to reduce human infection risk and safeguard public health.