Epidemiological relationship between human toxoplasma infection and cats in Belgrade

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis in one of the most widely spread anthropozoonoses in the world. Being the definitive host of the heteroxenous coccidian parasite Toxoplasma gondii, the cat is the source of infection. The cat may present a source of human infection both via direct contact and indirectly, via exposure to environmental contamination (excretion of oocysts into the soil). To assess the epidemiological relationship between human toxoplasma infection and the cat in Belgrade as a model urban environment, we performed an epidemiological study involving 1157 women of reproductive age residing in Belgrade during a four-year period (1988-1991). The rate of infection increased with age, ranging from 57% to 93%, with an overall mean of 77%. Exposure to soil (farming, gardening) was shown to contribute significantly to infection in the group of women below 20 years of age, indicating that cats are an epidemiologically significant source of environmental contamination in Belgrade. On the other hand, car ownership as a criterion of contact with cats was not shown to contribute significantly to infection in the examined population.