Abstract
Seroepidemiological studies on ascariasis and toxoplasmosis were conducted in a Brazilian Japanese settlement, Tome-Acu, in August, 1988. The specific IgE antibodies against Ascaris antigen were assayed and 99 individuals out of 221 inhabitants in the area were found positive (44.8%), while only 4 out of 182 blood donors in Gunma University Hospital, Japan, were positive (2.2%). The poor general sanitary conditions such as water supply or sewerage system in Tome-Acu may be the cause of the high positive rate of anti-ascaris antibody. The specific IgG antibodies against Toxoplasma were assayed, 164 out of 218 were positive in Tome-Acu (75.2%), while 65 out of 400 were positive in Gunma University Hospital (16.3%). The results of the questionnaire showed that 77.6% of the inhabitants in Tome-Acu kept cats in their houses. Very few of them answered the custom of taking under-cooked meat. The role of cats was assumed to be attributable to the high prevalence rate of Toxoplasma infection.
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