Ehab Kotb Elmahallawy ^1* Nady Elbarbary ² David Cano-Terriza ³ Tomás Fajardo ³ Nada Albalawi ⁴ Débora Jiménez-Martín ³ Marwa M. I. Ghallab ⁵ Ahmed Gareh ⁶ Refaat Ras ⁷ Isabelle Villena ⁸ Sabry Atef ⁹ Hajar AlQadeeb ¹⁰ Hind Alzaylaee ¹¹ Sonia Almeria ¹² Ignacio García Bocanegra ^3*

• ¹ Department of Animal Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cordoba, Cordoba, Spain
• ² Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Aswan, Egypt
• ³ Departamento de Sanidad Animal, Grupo de Investigación en Sanidad Animal y Zoonosis (GISAZ), Facultad de Veterinaria, Universidad de Córdoba, Córdoba, Spain
• ⁴ Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, Al-ula, Al-Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia
• ⁵ Department of Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, Kafrelsheikh University, Kafr el Sheikh, Egypt
• ⁶ Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aswan University, Aswan, Aswan, Egypt
• ⁷ Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Al Sharqia, Egypt
• ⁸ University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, UR 7510, National Reference Centre for Toxoplasmosis, Laboratory of Parasitology, Reims Hospital, 51095 Reims, France
• ⁹ Department of Zoonotic Diseases, National Research Centre, El Buhouth st., Dokki,, Giza, 12622, Egypt
• ¹⁰ Department of Medical Laboratory, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, AlKharj 11942, Saudi Arabia
• ¹¹ Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, P.O. Box 84428, Riyadh, 11671, Saudi Arabia
• ¹² Office of Laboratory Operations and Applied Sciences (OLOAS), Food and Drug Administration, Department of Health and Human Services, Laurel, MD 20708,, Laurel, Maryland, USA, United States

Toxoplasmosis remains a prevalent parasitic zoonosis worldwide, raising public health concerns. The global information available regarding the role of camels in the epidemiology of Toxoplasma gondii is still limited. This study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of T. gondii in dromedary camels (Camelus dromedarius) from northern and southern Egypt. A total of 513 serum samples were obtained from camels across Cairo (Lower Egypt) and Aswan (Upper Egypt) governorates. The Modified Agglutination Test (MAT) was performed to screen for anti-T. gondii antibodies. The overall seroprevalence was 13.84 % (71/513; 95CI%:10.85-16.83). The bivariate analysis showed that animals aged 4-8 years (13.84%, 36/260) and older than 8 years (18.45%, 31/168) showed significantly higher seropositivity compared to those young individuals (≤ 4 years old) (p = 0.011). Additionally, the multiple logistic regression analysis highlighted the geographic region as a potential risk factor for T. gondii exposure. Thus, camels from Lower Egypt had significantly higher seroprevalence of T. gondii (19.92%, 51/256) compared to those from Upper Egypt (7.78%; 20/257; p < 0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 2.94; 95% CI: 1.70–5.10). Our results provide evidence of moderate, widespread, and heterogeneous spatial distribution of T. gondii among camel populations in Egypt, which might have important implications for animal and public health in that country. Surveillance and control programs should be implemented to reduce the risk of exposure of T. gondii in camels.