A cross-sectional survey of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in Israeli pigeons

A cross-sectional prevalence study was performed for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) in 495 wild pigeons (Columba livia) captured from various locations in Israel. Seropositivity was found in 20/495 (4%) of the birds. Pigeon samples in regions of semi-arid climate had higher T. gondii seropositivity (p = 0.033), amount of precipitation was inversely proportional to seropositivity (p = 0.005), seropositivity was inversely related to the size of the nearest human community (p = 0.012). and seropositivity was inversely related to the proximity of water flow (p = 0.013). The study results highlight the widespread environmental contamination of T. gondii and suggest that pigeons may serve as sentinels for the environmental spread of this parasite. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.