Prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in the sera of rare wildlife in the Shanghai Zoological Garden, People's Republic of China.

The prevalence of antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in the sera of rare wildlife in the Shanghai Zoological Garden, PR China, was examined using a modified agglutination test (MAT) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Forty-one (35%) of 117 animals belonging to two classes, 10 orders, 18 families, 37 genera and 52 species (including sub-species) were sero-positive for MAT. By MAT, T. gondii antibodies were found in 11.1% (4/36) of birds, in 25% (4/16) of primates, in 69.4% (25/36) of carnivores and in 27.6% (8/29) of herbivores. Thirty-three (33.7%) of 98 animals tested by protein A ELISA were sero-positive. By ELISA, T. gondii antibodies were found in none of 36 birds, in 33.3% (4/12) of primates, in 87.1% (27/31) of carnivores and in 10.5% (2/19) of herbivores.