Occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in cattle and pigs slaughtered, State of Rio de Janeiro

Daniela Martins Luciano,Rodrigo Caldas Menezes,José Leonardo Nicolau,Leandro Batista Das Neves,Magyda Arabia Araji Dahroug,Luiz Cláudio Ferreira,Maria Regina Reis Amendoeira,Raquel Martins Luciano

doi:10.1590/s1984-29612011000400018

Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by means of the Indirect Immunufluorescent Antibody Assay (IFAT) in cattle and pigs from slaughterhouses in two municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro. IgG anti-T. gondii antibodies was found in 1.96% (9/459) of the cattle and 7.64% (31/406) of the pigs, without any positive association (p > 0.05) with risk factors for transmission and seropositivity. Taking the cutoff point of IFAT ³ 1:64, titers of 64 and 256 were detected, suggesting chronic infection. Despite the low prevalence rates found for cattle and pigs, these indicated environmental contamination in the municipalities investigated, biosafety failures at the technified pig farm evaluated and the possibility of human and animal infection through eating raw or undercooked meat from these animals.

Highlights

This study aimed to estimate the occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by means of the Indirect Immunufluorescent Antibody Assay (IFAT) in cattle and pigs from slaughterhouses in two municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro
The seroprevalence among production animals signals the problem in rural regions, since these animals are in direct contact with the environment for long periods (BONNA et al, 2006; MURARO et al, 2010)
The aim of this study was to investigate occurrences of IgG anti-T. gondii, using the Indirect Immunufluorescent Antibody Assay (IFAT), as described by Camargo (1964), in cattle and pigs slaughtered in two municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro

Summary

Introduction

This study aimed to estimate the occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies by means of the Indirect Immunufluorescent Antibody Assay (IFAT) in cattle and pigs from slaughterhouses in two municipalities in the State of Rio de Janeiro. Este trabalho objetivou estimar a ocorrência de anticorpos anti-Toxoplasma gondii por meio da Reação de Imunofluorescência Indireta (RIFI) em bovinos e suínos de abatedouros de dois municípios do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Pigs become infected mainly through ingestion of oocysts that are eliminated in the feces of cats that live on farms.

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Conclusion