Seroprevalence of toxoplasma gondii in humans and cats in Vaslui county – Romania

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii among humans and cats in Vaslui, a county in eastern Romania. Between 2023 and 2025, individual blood serum samples were collected from 88 humans and 30 cats. These samples were analyzed by serological methods to identify specific IgG and IgM antibodies. The overall prevalence of the parasite among humans was 26.14% in 2023, 46.59% in 2024, and 27.27% in 2025.The results of the study showed that, in comparison to other age groups, the 20–25 age group consistently saw the highest number of cases of illness during the 2023–2025 period. This indicates that young people's vulnerability increased during the period under study. The overall prevalence of the parasite in cats was 0% in 2023, 9.09% in 2024 and 7.14% in 2025. These results indicate that the correct assessment of the prevalence among the cat population is very limited due to the very low number of cats tested. Analyzing the results obtained during the period 2023-2025, it can be seen that the highest number of cases of disease were recorded in the age group between 20-25 years, indicating a high vulnerability in this age category. Even if cases of toxoplasmosis are confirmed among the human population, in cats, which represent the main intermediate host, systematic testing is absent, leading to a lack of data regarding testing for toxoplasmosis in cats. This lack of data makes it impossible to carry out comparative assessments between humans and animals, causing difficulties in understanding the mechanisms of transmission of the parasite. Therefore, an alarm signal must be sounded, because correlating the data obtained in humans with those that could be obtained in cats could provide an overview of the risk and facilitate the implementation of effective control strategies.