Research overview: Toxoplasma seroprevalence across wild felid populations worldwide

Serosurveys consistently reveal high Toxoplasma exposure in wild felids, reflecting their role as both definitive hosts and predators of infected prey. This overview synthesizes prevalence patterns across lions, pumas, bobcats, leopards and other species, examining how diet, age, habitat and prey availability shape infection rates. It considers methodological issues in serology, the difference between exposure and active shedding, and what high seroprevalence implies for environmental oocyst loads. The synthesis connects these surveys to downstream concerns such as marine mammal disease and human exposure. It aims to give readers a comparative picture of how thoroughly Toxoplasma permeates wild cat populations and why felids, sitting atop food chains rich in intermediate hosts, almost universally encounter and amplify this remarkably successful parasite.