Detection of DNA and anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in errant cats (Felis catus domesticus, Linnaeus, 1758) captured by the Zoonoses Control Center of Goiânia, state of Goiás, Brazil

• Published in: Revista de Biologia Neotropical (Online) Vol. 16; no. 2
• Main Authors: Hânstter Hállison Alves Rezende, Jaqueline Ataíde Silva Lima, Antonio Roberto Gomes-Júnior, Jade de Oliveira Melo, Heloísa Ribeiro Storchilo, Taynara Cristina Gomes, Marina Clare Vinaud, Ana Maria de Castro
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Goiás 01-12-2019
• Subjects: cats; Gene; hemagglutination; polymerase chain reaction; Toxoplasmosis
• ISSN: 1807-9652; 2178-0579
• DOI: 10.5216/rbn.v16i2.56263

The purpose of this study was to verify the seropositivity of IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies in serum samples and to detect T. gondii DNA detection in tissue from stray cats captured by the Zoonosis Control Center (ZCC) of Goiânia, state of Goiás, during 2016. Antibodies were analyzed by means of an indirect hemagglutination assay (IHA), while DNA was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), using primers that amplify the B1 gene in specimens of brain, muscle and heart from the animals. The serological analysis revealed that 87.4% (21/24) of the cats were positive and the molecular test indicated a positivity rate of 75% (18/24). These high rates of serological and molecular detection are worrisome for public health because they confirm the important role cats play in environmental contamination, and hence, in the transmission of toxoplasmosis to humans.