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A Geographical Comparison Concerning the Seroprevalence of
Toxoplasma gondii in Domestic Cats of York and Lancaster Counties
Justin Klinedinst and David Singleton
Department of Biological Sciences, York College of Pennsylvania
Introduction
• Domestic and feral cats are the only
species that are able to excrete the
infectious sporulated form of the
parasite termed oocysts (Dubey 2004).
• The infectious disease caused by the
parasite is termed Toxoplasmosis, a
zoonosis that can also be contracted by
humans through the ingestion of
undercooked meat and contaminated
water.
•Pregnant women are extremely
susceptible to the parasite, which is
congenital and prevalent in many areas
across the United States and
throughout the world. Because of its
almost ubiquitous nature, Toxoplasma
gondii is of medical importance due to
its capability to cause congenital
disease or even abortions (Wong et
0.6
*
0.4
0.2
York
Collect felid serum
samples from local
veterinary hospitals of
York and Lancaster
Lancaster
Figure 2. A depiction of the percentage
of T. gondii positive serum samples for
outdoor cats of York (n=28) and Lancaster
(n=7) counties.
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
York
Lancaster
Figure 3. A depiction of the percentage of
T. gondii positive serum samples for indoor
cats of York (n=31) and Lancaster (n=16)
Counties.
Conduct ELISA assay on
collected serum samples
Measure the
absorbance to detect T.
gondii postive serum
samples
Results
H0: There will be no difference in T.
gondii seroprevalence when comparing
cats from York and Lancaster
Table 1. Percentage of positive T. gondii serum samples
Conclusions
H0: Rejected, a difference was revealed
between the two counties
H1: A higher seroprevalence was
observed in outdoor cats as opposed to
indoor cats for York County but not
Lancaster County.
H2: Rejected, from the data collected a
higher prevalence was associated with
York County cats as opposed to Lancaster
County
H1: Outdoor Cats of both York and
Lancaster will have a higher
seroprevalence than indoor cats
H2: Cats from Lancaster will show a
higher seroprevalance of T. gondii than
cats from York
*
0.0
al. 1994).
Hypotheses
Percentage Positive
for T. gondii
Methods
Percentage Positive
for T. gondii
• Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an
intracellular coccidian parasite that
employs felids as its primary hosts and
other vertebrates such as humans,
livestock, and mice as intermediate
hosts (Morisaki et al. 1995).
0.8
Literature Cited
Figure 1. Results from the Indirect
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent
Assay (ELISA). The yellow colored wells depict
positive T. gondii serum samples.
Dubey, J. P. 2004. Toxoplasmosis- a waterborne zoonosis. Veterinary
Parisitology. (126):57-72.
Morisaki, J. (et al.). 1995. Invvasion of Toxoplasma gonodii occurs
active penetration of the host cell. Journal of Cell Science. (108): 2457-2464.
Wong, S. (et al.). 1994. Toxoplasmosis in Pregnancy. Clinical
Infectious Diseases. (18)6: 853-861.