Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic cats treated in private clinics of Porto Alegre, Brazil/Soroepidemiologia de Toxoplasma gondii em gatos domiciliados atendidos em clinicas particulares de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

The sera of 245 cats from Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, were tested by indirect hemagglutination (IHA) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) in order to determine the frequency of Toxoplasma antibodies. Information such as breed, sex, age and access or not to the street and dietary habits were assessed using an epidemiological questionnaire and also statistical analysis for correlation with the serological results obtained. The test results showed rates of 26,9 and 37,9% for IHA and IIF, respectively, suggesting that these cats have acted as a source of environmental contamination at some time during the course of their lifetime, possibly shedding oocysts, especially those with free access to the street.