Toxoplasma gondii infection in domestic cats and northern fur seals of the Pribilof Islands, Alaska International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife

Disseminated toxoplasmosis has been described in northern fur seals, however little is known about the significance and epidemiology of this pathogen in free ranging populations. We tested archived serum from a subset of domestic cats (Felis catus) and adult northern fur seals (Callorhinus ursinus; NFS) in the Pribilof Islands, Alaska, for T. gondii antibodies and feline fecal samples for T. gondii oocysts. Of the 37 cats, two (5.4 %) were seropositive and all (n = 36) fecal float samples were negative. Of the 225 NFS serum samples, 37 (16.4 %) were positive by modified agglutination tests. There was no statistically significant difference in the seroprevalence of NFS by year or region of animal capture. These findings suggest that T. gondii exposure in both cats and NFS is present but appears lower in this region compared to other studied areas.