{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]],"date-time":"2026-04-11T02:19:11Z","timestamp":1775873951753,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":52,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,5]],"date-time":"2021-09-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1630800000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001871","name":"Funda\u00e7\u00e3o para a Ci\u00eancia e a Tecnologia","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["UIDB\/CVT\/00772\/2020"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001871","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Toxoplasma gondii is a worldwide zoonotic parasite. According to the \u201cOne Health\u201d approach, studies on toxoplasmosis are essential since it affects humans and domestic and wild animals. In the present study, antibodies to T. gondii were determined in serum samples from 263 wild birds located in five wildlife rehabilitation centres in mainland Portugal by using the modified agglutination test (MAT) with a cut-off titre of 20. An overall seroprevalence of 36.5% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 30.7\u201342.6) was observed. For the first time, antibodies to T. gondii were detected in some avian species, including pallid swift (Apus pallidus) (33.3%), black-backed gull (Larus fuscus) (39.3%), European turtle-dove (Streptopelia turtur) (100%), bee-eater (Merops apiaster) (50.0%), carrion crow (Corvus corone) (33.3%), and Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) (100%), which expands the list of intermediate hosts of T. gondii. A lower seroprevalence was found in juvenile birds (31.9%) compared to adults (48.7%) (p = 0.016). The central region of Portugal was considered a risk factor for T. gondii infection in wild birds (odds ratio: 3.61; 95% CI: 1.09\u201311.91). This pioneer study calls attention to the need for further studies, to provide a clearer understanding of T. gondii epidemiology in Portugal, because it reflects wide dispersion of T. gondii oocysts in the environment.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens10091144","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,6]],"date-time":"2021-09-06T13:18:26Z","timestamp":1630934306000},"page":"1144","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Prevalence of Antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii in Different Wild Bird Species Admitted to Rehabilitation Centres in Portugal"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"10","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5855-6210","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carolina","family":"Lopes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ricardo","family":"Brand\u00e3o","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Ecology, Recovery and Surveillance of Wild Animals (CERVAS), Av. Bombeiros Volunt\u00e1rios 8, 6290-520 Gouveia, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Ana Filipa","family":"Lopes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wildlife Study and Rehabilitation Centre (CERAS), Quercus ANCN, Rua Tenente Valadim, 17, 6000-284 Castelo Branco, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3191-7853","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Sargo","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of UTAD (CRAS-UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Mar\u00eda","family":"Casero","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wildlife Rehabilitation and Research Centre of Ria Formosa (RIAS), Parque Natural da Ria Formosa, 8700-194 Olh\u00e3o, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Carolina","family":"Nunes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre of Santo Andr\u00e9 (CRASSA), Quercus ANCN, Moinho Novo, Galiza, 7500-022 Vila Nova de Santo Andr\u00e9, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Filipe","family":"Silva","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of UTAD (CRAS-UTAD), Quinta de Prados, 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Jitender P.","family":"Dubey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6145-7560","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lu\u00eds","family":"Cardoso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8182-5674","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ana Patr\u00edcia","family":"Lopes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Veterinary Sciences, School of Agrarian and Veterinary Sciences (ECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"},{"name":"Animal and Veterinary Research Centre (CECAV), University of Tr\u00e1s-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD), 5000-801 Vila Real, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"378","DOI":"10.1007\/s10393-019-01405-7","article-title":"The One Health approach to toxoplasmosis: Epidemiology, control, and prevention strategies","volume":"16","author":"Aguirre","year":"2019","journal-title":"EcoHealth"},{"key":"ref_2","unstructured":"Dubey, J.P. 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