Prevalence of antibody to Toxoplasma gondii in terrestrial wildlife in a natural area.

We conducted a cross-sectional study from 2008 to 2009 to evaluate the occurrence of feral and wild cats and the risk of Toxoplasma gondii infection in terrestrial wildlife in a natural area in Illinois, USA. Felids are definitive hosts for T. gondii and cats are a key component of rural and urban transmission of T.

Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in woodchucks across an urban-rural gradient.

Increasing urbanization has important consequences for wildlife, including the potential for higher prevalence of diseases within "urban adapter" species exposed to spillover from domestic animals. We investigated whether prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in woodchucks (Marmota monax) was related to urbanization in a Midwestern landscape. We collected serum samples from adult woodchucks captured across an urban-rural gradient in Illinois, USA in May-November 2007.