Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in border police dogs from the southern part of the Czech Republic

Between 1984 and 1987, antibodies to toxoplasmosis in dogs in the southern part of the Czech Republic were monitored. The dogs were German shepherds, reared and used by the border police in the line of their duty. Antibodies were ascertained by the Sabin-Feldman dye test (DT) at a titre of 4 or higher, and by the complement fixation test (CFT) at a titre of 10 or higher. Dogs from 21 kennels were re-tested 7 times (total of 1903 tests). Mean seroprevalence levels ascertained by the DT and CFT were 9.8% (1.7-26.6%) and 3.7% (0.8-6.6%) respectively. The generally low seroprevalence can be explained by high zoohygienic standards at the facilities, use of cooked feed and the fact that the dogs stayed mainly in well-preserved environment. A study was made also to see whether the seroprevalence of antibodies might have been influenced by local climatic conditions and the type of countryside. Differences in the type of countrysides do not seem to have any influence on the seroprevalence.