Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in the endangered Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) in China.

Père David's deer (Elaphurus davidianus) is an emblematic endangered species and regarded as a national treasure, toxoplasmosis is a serious zoonotic parasitic disease for wild animals. Little is known about the prevalence of antibodies to this parasite in Père David's deer. In this study, sera from 43 wild Père David's deer, from Dafeng nature reserve China were tested for antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii by MAT. The investigation showed that antibodies to toxoplasma were detected in 8 of 43 (18.60%, 95% CI 6.97–30.24) samples. Seroprevalence ranged from 15.00% to 21.74% between the different genders, but the difference was not significant according to SPSS analysis (P > 0.05). This report of seroprevalence of antibodies to T. gondii in Père David's deer provides basic data of T. gondii infection data, which is important for controlling and preventing toxoplasmosis in Père David's deer. • Firstly reported T. gondii infection in the Père David's deer in Dafeng reserve. • The prevalence of T. gondii in serum samples from Père David's deer was 18.6%. • This result is an alert about the potential risk in Père David's deer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]