Seroprevalence and risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii in domestic pigs from Spain.

abstract Article history:Received 22 February 2010Received in revised form 2 June 2010Accepted 2 June 2010Available online 18 June 2010Keywords:Toxoplasma gondiiDomestic pigsSeroprevalenceRisk factorsMATSpain Serum samples from 2970 (1400 sows, 1570 fattening) pigs, from 100 farms in the 10 main swine pro-duction regions in Spain were tested for antibodies againstT. gondiiby the modi ed agglutination test(MAT). Antibodies toT. gondii(MAT 1:25 or higher) were detected in 492 pigs (16.6%, 9.7% in fattening pigsand 24.2% in sows). The herd prevalence was 85.0% (95% CI: 78 92) and within-farm prevalence ranged from2.9% to 92.8% (median=17.6%). Statistically signi cant differences were observed among sampling regionswith seroprevalence signi cantly higher in pigs from Valencia Community (27.3%), Extremadura (23.3%) andCatalonia (21.2%). A generalized estimating equations model indicated that the risk factors associated withT.gondiiseroprevalence were: age, sows compared to fattening pigs (OR=2.9; 95% CI=1.83 4.53), lack ofrodent control (OR=1.9; 95% CI=1.04 3.60) and presence of cats (OR=1.6; 95% CI=1.12 2.34). Theseroprevalence observed in the present study indicates a widespread, although variable, exposure toT. gondiiamong domestic pigs in Spain, which might have important implications for public health. Managementmeasures including control of rodents and cats on the farms could help to reduce the observed prevalencelevels in Spain.© 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.