Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii in cats in mainland China 2016–2020: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Toxoplasma gondii can infect humans and most animals and has a very high infection rate worldwide, including in China. The number of people infected with T. gondii in China increases with the number of cats. OBJECTIVES: We investigated the seropositive rate of T. gondii in cats over the last five years and analyzed the risk factors via meta-analysis. METHODS: We retrieved 20 studies, with a total of 5,158 cats, published between 2016 and 2020, used the DerSimonian-Laird model and calculated seroprevalence estimates with the variance stabilizing double arcsine transformation. RESULTS: The overall seroprevalence rate after sinusoidal conversion was 19.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 15.9–23.9; 966/5,158), lower than the domestic report from 1995 to 2015 (24.5%, 95% CI, 20.1–29.0). There was substantial heterogeneity among studies (χ(2) = 262.32; p < 0.001; I(2) = 64.6%). Regression analysis of possible heterogeneous causes and subgroup analysis showed that age and whether cats were stray or not have a significant effect on the seropositive rate. CONCLUSIONS: Articles published in recent five years suggest that the seroprevalence estimates of Toxoplasma gondii in cats has decreased. Cats, as the final host of T. gondii, are an important cause of the spread of the parasite, and this is an important concern for public health.