Abstract
The aims of this survey were to determine the flock-level and animal-level prevalences of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil, and to identify risk factors. Blood samples were collected from 540 sheep in 63 flocks in 14 municipalities in the Sertão mesoregion. To serologically diagnose T. gondiii nfection, the indirect immunofluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was used. Flocks with at least one seropositive animal were considered positive. Among the 63 flocks, 28 (44.44%) were positive, and 60 (11.11%) of the 540 animals were seropositive. Variable flock size > 25 animals was identified as a risk factor (odds ratio = 3.2; 95% CI = 1.09 - 9.34; P = 0.033). The results from this survey demonstrate that T. gondii is spread among sheep in the State of Paraíba.
Highlights
The Brazilian national sheep flock is approximately 17 million head, and 56.7% of this effective are concentrated in the Northeastern region
The aims of this survey were to determine the flock-level and animal-level prevalences of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil, and to identify risk factors
Variable flock size > 25 animals was identified as a risk factor
Summary
The Brazilian national sheep flock is approximately 17 million head, and 56.7% of this effective are concentrated in the Northeastern region. In the State of Paraiba, sheep farming has economic importance, and this state has a headcount of 433,032 animals distributed in 19,826 farms (IBGE, 2010). In this context, epidemiological investigations of infectious. Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite with worldwide distribution that can infect a wide range of animal species, including sheep. It has an indirect life cycle with felids as the definitive hosts (DUBEY, 2010). The aims of this survey were to determine the flock-level and animal-level prevalences and to identify the risk factors for T. gondii infection among sheep in the State of Paraiba, using a planned sampling
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