TITLE:
Seroprevalence and Risk Factors of Toxoplasmosis in Domestic Cats Brought to Small Animal Clinics in Kampala District, Uganda
AUTHORS:
Zozianne Hoareau, Lewis Ashabahebwa, Kelvin Bwambale, Dickson Stuart Tayebwa
KEYWORDS:
Cats, Toxoplasma Gondii, Seroprevalence, Risk Factors, Antibodies
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Veterinary Medicine,
Vol.16 No.8,
August
10,
2026
ABSTRACT: Cats, as the definitive hosts of Toxoplasma gondii, play a critical role in the transmission of this ubiquitous zoonotic protozoon parasite. Despite the public health importance of T. gondii and the central role of domestic cats in its epidemiology, there is a notable lack of data on its prevalence in cats in Uganda, and no studies have specifically investigated this issue to date. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled blood from 80 cats brought to selected small animal clinics in Kampala District Central Uganda, and determined their T. gondii seroprevalence using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) antibody test. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to determine the sociodemographic factors associated with T. gondii seropositivity. The seroprevalence was 45.2% (95% CI: 41.1 - 62.5). The analysis revealed several factors positively associated with Toxoplasmosis seropositivity (p ≤ 0.25) among domestic cats. These included: raw food consumption (aOR 6.76, 95% CI: 1.38 - 33.12, 0.018), roaming outdoors (aOR 6.20, 95% CI: 1.54 - 24.95, 0.010) and adult/senior age group (aOR 3.82, 95% CI: 1.20 - 12.20, 0.023). These findings underscore the need for enhanced surveillance, routine screening, improved public awareness, and targeted preventive measures to reduce the burden of toxoplasmosis in Kampala District, Uganda, and the wider East African region.