Table 4. Published reports of natural Toxoplasma gondii oocyst shedding in free-ranging wild felids. Reports of T. gondii-like oocysts (diagnosed by microscopy) and confirmed T. gondii oocysts (diagnosed by bioassay) are included.
| Region and felid | Sampling location | Diagnostic method | No. sampled (no. positive) | Shedding prevalence | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | |||||
| Bobcat (Lynx rufus)a | New Mexico, Montana, USA | Microscopy and mouse bioassay | 9 (3) | 33.3% | [209] |
| Mountain lion (Puma concolor) | Montana, USA | Microscopy and mouse bioassay | 5 (0) | 0% | [209] |
| Mountain lion (Puma concolor ssp. vancouverensis) | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada | Microscopy and mouse bioassay | 23 (2)b | 8.7% | [101,210] |
| Central/South America | |||||
| Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) | Cockscomb Basin, Belize | Microscopy | 8 (2) | 25% | [211] |
| Jaguar (Panthera onca) | Cockscomb Basin, Belize | Microscopy | 25 (1) | 4% | [211] |
| Geoffrey's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi) Pampas cat (Leopardus colocolo) Jaguarundi (Puma yagouaroundi) | Cordoba Province, Argentina | Pig/mouse bioassy | 73 (27)c | 37% | [212] |
| Asia | |||||
| Leopard (Panthera pardus) | Huai Kha Wildlife Sanctuary (HKWS), Thailand | Microscopy | 54(1) | 1.9% | [213] |
| Tiger (Panthera tigris) | HKWS, Thailand | Microscopy | 19 (0) | 0% | [213] |
| Leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) | HKWS, Thailand | Microscopy | 3 (0) | 0% | [213] |
| Iriomote cat (Prionailurus iriomotensis) | Iriomote-jima Island, Japan | Microscopy and mouse bioassay | 45 (2)d | 4.4% | [214] |
Felid scientific names listed according to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifications [215]. Mountain lions (also commonly called pumas and cougars) identified as Felis concolor and Felis concolar in previous publications [14,39,101,209] all belong to a single species, Puma concolor.
16 fecal samples (1 positive) collected from dead mountain lions, 7 fecal samples (1 positive) collected in the environment from an unknown number of mountain lions. Overlap may exist between the sampled mountain lions and environmentally collected feces.
The number and species of felids with confirmed shedding of T. gondii is unknown as T. gondii-like oocysts were pooled for bioassay.
45 fecal samples collected in the environment from an unknown number of Iriomote cats.