analysis of feral cats role in dissemination of toxoplasma gondii infection in rural area, golestan province, north-east of iran

introduction:cats carry a lot of zoonotic parasites such as toxoplasma gondii which causes toxoplasmosis in warm-blooded animals. toxoplasmosis includes wide range of symptoms in its intermediate and definitive hosts but the worst symptoms have been seen in pregnant women and also on immunocompromised hosts. considering the importance of cats as the only definitive host that spread the t. gondii oocysts in environment, it is necessary to obtain comprehensive information about the role of cat in life cycle of t. gondi. objective: our objective was analysis of feral cats role in dissemination of toxoplasma gondii infection in rural area, golestanprovince, north-east of iran.materials and methods: during the january 2012 to february 2014, a total of 210 feral cats were captured by hand made traps. age, sex, season and locality were documented. blood samples from carotid were collected, sera were separated by centrifugation at 3000 rpm for 10 min and stored at 20 c0 until laboratory examination. the procedure was based on designed elisa avidity kit.results: the frequency of t. gondii infection in serum samples was 85 %( 180/210). percentage of t. gondii infection was similar in male & female and different seasons but significant difference between sampled villages has been recorded. also the seropositivity rate of t.gondi has positive relationship with age (p˂0.005).conclusion: performing suitable screening test in rural population, keeping feral cats far from villages, control of feral cats population by sterilization and making villagers aware of toxoplasmosis danger are recommended.