Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Parasitology International journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/parint Short communication Toxoplasma gondii seroprevalence in goats, cats and humans in Russia Eduard A. Shuralev a,b,c , Nikolai D. Shamaev a , Malik N. Mukminov a,b , Kisaburo Nagamune d , Yuji Taniguchi e , Taizo Saito f , Katsuya Kitoh e,f , Marina I. Arleevskaya b , Anastasiya Yu. Fedotova a , Diana R. Abdulmanova a , Natalya M. Aleksandrova c,g , Marina A. Efimova c , Aynur I. Yarullin c , Anna R. Valeeva b , Kamil S. Khaertynov b,c , Yasuhiro Takashima e,f,h,i, ⁎ a Department of Applied Ecology, Institute of Environmental Sciences, Kazan Federal University, 18 Kremlyovskaya St., Kazan, Tatarstan 420008, Russian Federation b Central Research Laboratory, Kazan State Medical Academy – Branch Campus of the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Further Professional Education «Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Professional Education», Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation, 36 Butlerova St., Kazan, Tatarstan 420012, Russian Federation c Federal Center for Toxicological, Radiation and Biological Safety, Nauchniy Gorodok-2, Kazan, Tatarstan 420075, Russian Federation d Division of Protozoology, Department of Parasitology, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan e The United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan f Department of Veterinary Parasitological Diseases, Faculty of Applied Biological Science, 1–1 Yanagido, Gifu 501–1193, Japan g Combinatorial Chemistry and Neurobiology OpenLab, Institute of Fundamental Medicine and Biology, Kazan Federal University, 18 Kremlyovskaya St, Kazan, Tatarstan 420008, Russian Federation h Education and Research Center for Food Animal Health, Gifu University (GeFAH), 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan i Center for Highly Advanced Integration of Nano and Life Sciences, Gifu University (G-CHAIN), 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan ARTICLE INFO Keywords: Cats Russia Seroprevalence Toxoplasma gondii ABSTRACT Toxoplasmosis, a most common zoonosis, is caused by the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii. However, there is little epidemiological information on T. gondii infections in humans and livestock animals in Russia. Therefore, in this study, the seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats in Russia was investigated. A total of 216 goats from 32 farms were investigated and 95 of them were seropositive for T. gondii. The difference in seroprevalence between the examined regions was not statistically significant. We next collected serum samples from 99 cats and 181 humans in Kazan city, the state capital of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia, and examined their T. gondii ser- oprevalences. Thirty-nine of the 99 cat samples and 56 of the 181 human samples showed seropositivity. Logistical regression analysis revealed that the cat breeding history of the human subjects, but not their sex or age is a significant risk factor for T. gondii seropositivity. These findings suggest that the natural environment in Russia may be widely polluted with T. gondii oocysts shed by cats, and ingestion of these oocysts provides a major route for human infection with this parasite. Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic protozoan parasite that causes widespread infections in humans and other animals, including meat production animals. Although most infections in humans are asymp- tomatic, the parasite can cause severe complications in im- munocompromised individuals and abortion when a mother is infected for the first time during pregnancy. Human toxoplasmosis is trans- mitted mainly through ingesting the tissue cysts present in T. gondii contaminated raw or undercooked meat, or through oral contact with the sporulated oocysts of this parasite when present in the feces of in- fected cats. It was reported that 30 to 63% of human infections are attributable to the consumption of undercooked meat in Europe [1]. An epidemiological study among > 4000 Japanese pregnant women identified a history of raw meat intake as a risk factor related to toxoplasmosis development, but cat ownership was not a significant factor [2]. In contrast, a nationwide representative cross-sectional survey in Germany showed that cat ownership was a risk factor for T. gondii seropositivity [3]. The relative importance of oocysts from cat feces or tissue cysts in meat products as sources of human T. gondii infections in each area is considered to be affected by the eating habits and cat rearing style of people in different countries. However, there is little information on the status of T. gondii infections among cats, do- mestic animals for meat production, and humans in Russia. In this study, we surveyed the seroprevalence of T. gondii in goats, cats and humans in Russia. All sampling and analysis procedures using human and all other animal derived samples were approved by the Ethical Committee of the Kazan State Medical Academy, Kazan, Russia (Permit https://doi.org/10.1016/j.parint.2017.10.014 Received 28 August 2017; Received in revised form 25 October 2017; Accepted 31 October 2017 ⁎ Corresponding author at: The United Graduate School of Veterinary Sciences, Gifu University, 1-1 Yanagido, Gifu 501-1193, Japan. E-mail address: atakashi@gifu-u.ac.jp (Y. Takashima). Parasitology International 67 (2018) 112–114 Available online 08 November 2017 1383-5769/ © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. T