There is great diversity in swine coccidia, which are responsible for causing intestinal disorders ranging from sporadic diarrhea to severe cases of hemorrhagic enteritis. Thus, determining the species of coccidia that affect the animals of a region and associating them with the characteristics of the farms become extremely important. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of coccidia parasites in pigs reared in a family farming production system in the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil. Fecal samples for analysis were collected from 187 pigs on 51 farms. For morphological analysis, 1,590 sporulated oocysts were used. The prevalence of oocysts in fecal samples was 56.6% (106/187). The most prevalent species were Eimeria suis (21.9%), followed by Eimeria neodebliecki (16.6%), Eimeria perminuta (14.9%), Eimeria polita (12.8%), Eimeria debliecki (10.6%), Eimeria porci (10.1%), Cystoisospora suis (3.7%), Eimeria scabra (1.6%) and Eimeria cerdonis (0.5%). It can be concluded that pigs from the Semiarid Region of the State of Paraíba were parasitized by a diversity of coccidia species, mainly of the genus Eimeria, and predominantly presented with mixed infections occurring in the subclinical form.

In tropical regions, family farming is a form of production and work that is highly present in rural areas. Because the production system for free-range chickens has a low level of technification, it frequently presents massive infection by coccidia. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and diversity of Eimeria species in free-range chickens in northeastern Brazil. Fecal analyses were carried out using materials collected from 100 farms, belonging to 10 different municipalities. The sample from each farm was composed of five stool samples collected from different animals. Coproparasitological analyses were performed and, in each positive sample, photomicrographs of 20 oocysts were used for morphological identification of coccidia. The presence of Eimeria spp. was detected in 59% (59/100) of the farms analyzed. Species identification was performed through morphometric analysis of 1,180 sporulated oocysts. The following eight species of Eimeria spp. were found, in decreasing order of prevalence: Eimeria necatrix (25%), Eimeria mitis (18.3%), Eimeria mivati (17.3%), Eimeria tenella (12.4%), Eimeria brunetti (9.9%), Eimeria acervulina (9.1%), Eimeria praecox (4.8%) and Eimeria maxima (3.2%). The prevalence and diversity of Eimeria spp. on farms producing backyard chickens in the semiarid region of Brazil were high, especially the diversity of species. Changing the management, with the adoption of sanitary measures, may be effective in reducing the high prevalence of coccidia on the farms studied.

Background: Infestation by Otodectes cynotis is one of the main causes of external otitis in small animals, causing great disconfort and predisposition to secondary bacterial or fungal infections, with relevant importance in the small animal medicine. In dogs, a small number of this parasite in the ears may cause inflammation, while in cats, otoacariasis accounts for half of the external otitis cases. Due to the insufficiency of data about the prevalence of this disease in the Northeast region of Brazil, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence and clinical aspects of O. cynotis in dogs and cats from the Semi-arid region of Paraíba, Brazil.Material, Methods & Results: The research was conducted in the municipality of Sousa, Paraíba State, Brazil. A total of 102 dogs and 152 cats had their external ear canals examined by bilateral otoscopy, using an otoscope with a veterinary cone that allows inspection of the external ear canal. Parasitological swabs were also used to determine the prevalence of parasitism by O. cynotis. Samples collected in swabs were stored in a 70% alcohol preservative solution and sent to the Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology, in wich were examinated on direct research, using microscopes in the 10x objective (magnification of 100x). In all animals, clinical examinations were performed and their owners answered an epidemiological questionnaire to collect information about food and sanitary management. During the clinical examination, characteristics such as otopodal reflex, and the presence of pruritus and/or cerumen were also evaluated.  The prevalence of dogs and cats positive for O. cynotis was 33.3% (34/102) and 52.6% (80/152), respectively. Bilateral infestations occurred in 52.9% (18/34) of the positive dogs. Most of the positive animals showed evidence of the mite in both tests, Otoscopy + Swab (dogs: 58.8% - 20/34, cats: 66.2% - 53/80).Discussion: A high prevalence of O. cynotis infestation was observed in dogs (33.3%) and even higher prevalence in cats (52.6%), both are higher than it was expected. The diagnosis methods were effective for detecting infestation by this parasite, and the parasitological swab resulted in higher diagnosis rate than the otoscopy. The use of two diagnosis methods resulted in a greater number of positive diagnoses, explaining the high prevalence found in the present study. A higher prevalence was observed for animals that had contact with other animals. The direct form is the most accepted mode of transmission of Otodectes sp. and close confinement of animals was considered the main associated factor for frequent reinfestation by the mite.  For dogs, the presence of cerumen and pruritus were seen as O. cynotis infestation factors. Considering dogs, in the clinical examination, the presence of pruritus was significantly associated with the occurrence of parasitism. This association can be explained because O. cynotis is very active within the ear canals of parasitized animals, causing great annoyance and pruritus. No statistically significant risk factors were found for cats, but it was observed that adults had higher levels of infestation when compared to young cats, wich was not expected, as the literature commonly reports that young cats have higher levels of infestation. This can be explained by the confinement and the usual direct contact by different cats, increasing the occurrence of the parasite. In cats, the clinical examinations showed that the presence of otopodal reflex was significantly associated (p<0.2) with the parasitism occurrence (55.4%; 66/119). The evaluation of this reflex has been considered as one of the symptoms of otocariosis.

No abstract

No abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and diversity of endoparasitic fauna and the risk factors associated with parasite infections in free-range chickens in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Ten municipalities were visited and, in each of them, ten farms, to collect animal feces and apply epidemiological questionnaires. Feces from 417 poultry were used to perform EPG (eggs per gram) and OoPG (oocysts per gram) tests. Prevalences of 40.52% (169/417) and 39.08% (163/417) were observed for nematodes and coccidia, respectively. In 17% (71/417), mixed infections by nematodes and coccidia were observed. Nematodes of Heterakoidea superfamily were present in 100% of the positive samples (169/169), followed by Trichuris spp. (57.3%; 97/169). All the protozoan oocysts observed belonged to the genus Eimeria (100%; 163/163). The variable of presence of drooping wings was considered to be a factor associated with infection by coccidia (odds ratio = 5.412; confidence interval: 1.179-24.848; p = 0.030). It was concluded that there is high prevalence of nematodes and coccidia in free-range chickens in the state of Paraíba, Brazil. Better sanitary management measures, with greater hygiene of facilities, together with chemical control of parasites, can improve productivity by reducing the rate of gastrointestinal parasites.

<p>Há uma gama de microrganismos que podem ser agentes causadores de zoonoses, como vírus, bactérias, protozoários, entre muitos outros. Dentre os citados, pode-se destacar <em>Toxoplasma gondii</em>, protozoário responsável por ser o causador da toxoplasmose,  <em>Dirofilaria immits,</em> nematódeo que causa a dirofilariose, sendo estas zoonoses de risco que ainda são pouco conhecidas por parte da população. Por isso, este trabalho teve com o objetivo investigar o grau de conhecimento da população de Sousa, no Alto Sertão da Paraíba, sobre dirofilariose e toxoplasmose, abordando conceitos básicos sobre estas importantes zoonoses parasitárias. Percebeu-se que, das 100 pessoas que foram entrevistadas, 83% não sabiam o que é a toxoplasmose, 39% acreditava que o cão é o responsável pela transmissão dessa doença, 53% supuseram que a mordida de animais infectados é uma forma de transmissão dessa protozoonose, acreditam também que a toxoplasmose é uma alergia constante causada pelos animais 30%, assim como que a mesma pode ser um tipo de diarréia 25%. Sobre dirofilariose, 98% não tinham conhecimento da doença, 48% informaram que não sabiam que animal era o portador desta zoonose, enquanto 15% mencionaram o gato como portador da dirofilariose. A maior parte da população entrevistada não tinha conhecimento de que a dirofilariose pode afetar o ser humano, representando 96%. As formas de prevenção eram desconhecidas por todas as pessoas que participaram da entrevista, e 97% não utilizavam ou conheciam alguém que utilizava repelente nos seus animais. O conhecimento sobre zoonose pela população regional envolvida neste estudo atesta um baixo nível de conhecimento. Tal condição confere risco tanto para o proprietário, quanto para a saúde coletiva regional, sendo necessária a implantação de projetos, atividades educacionais promovidas pela secretária de saúde do município.</p>

<p>A parasitologia é uma das diversas áreas da biologia responsável por estudar os parasitos e o parasitismo no geral. Devido a utilização de métodos tradicionais no ensino, geralmente há dificuldade na fixação do conteúdo ministrado ao decorrer da disciplina de parasitologia. Numa tentativa de diferenciação no ensino, procuraram-se formas alternativas para auxiliar no processo ensino-aprendizagem, através do desenvolvimento de um aplicativo em forma de “quiz” voltado para a parasitologia veterinária. O “VetParasitoQuiz” foi desenvolvido e disponibilizado na loja virtual de Google para downloads em dispositivos <em>Android</em>. Em seguida, foi testado e avaliado pelos discentes matriculados na disciplina de parasitologia veterinária (2018.1) e da disciplina de Doenças Parasitárias (2018.2) do curso de Medicina Veterinária do Instituto Federal da Paraíba (IFPB) campus Sousa, onde os mesmos avaliaram a eficácia de métodos alternativos no ensino-aprendizagem. A avaliação desse método foi dividida em três fases, tendo resultados positivos em todas as fases com base na avaliação dos alunos, e assim comprovando a eficácia e eficiência na utilização de métodos alternativos no ensino da parasitologia veterinária.</p>