Prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii in sheep in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

Prevalence and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii in sheep in the State of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Érico Luís de Barros Correia, Thais Ferreira Feitosa, Fabrine Alexandre dos Santos, Sérgio Santos de Azevedo, Hilda Fátima de Jesus Pena, Solange Maria Gennari, Rinaldo Aparecido Mota, Clebert José Alves
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Colégio Brasileiro de Parasitologia Veterinaria
Series:Revista Brasileira de Parasitologia Veterinária
Subjects:
Toxoplasmosis
small ruminants
serology
epidemiology
control
Online Access:http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1984-29612015000300383&lng=en&tlng=en
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Summary: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. gondiiinfection, 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.
ISSN:1984-2961

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