A cross-sectional survey of Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in Israeli pigeons

A cross-sectional prevalence study was performed for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies using the Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) in 495 wild pigeons (Columba livia) captured from various locations in Israel. Seropositivity was found in 20/495 (4%) of the birds. Pigeon samples in regions of semi-arid climate had higher T. gondii seropositivity (p = 0.033), amount of precipitation was inversely proportional to seropositivity (p = 0.005), seropositivity was inversely related to the size of the nearest human community (p = 0.012), and seropositivity was inversely related to the proximity of water flow (p = 0.013). The study results highlight the widespread environmental contamination of T. gondii and suggest that pigeons may serve as sentinels for the environmental spread of this parasite.