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Toxoplasmosis is one of the most common zoonoses worldwide. The seroprevalence for T. gondii in human population from Brazil might range from 40 to 80%. The aim of this paper was to study the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in children from age one to 15 living in a low socioeconomic community, named community of Jardim São Remo in the year of 2002. The community is located in the West area of São Paulo municipality, São Paulo State, Brazil. Antibodies to T. gondii were found in 110 (32.4%, CI 95%: 27.5 - 37.7) of the 339 children tested with indirect immunofluorescent antibody test. The titration of the samples revealed 29 children with serum titer equal to 16, 14 children with 32, 18 children with 64, 21 children with 128, 20 children with 256 and eight children with serum titer > 512. The age dependence of the prevalence of T. gondii infection and the association between seroprevalence for T. gondii and seroprevalence for T. canis suggest that the infection is chiefly postnatal. Seroconversion in infant population of community Jardim São Remo occurs in children as young as two years old, earlier than in the children attended at health centers of São Paulo city. The seroprevalence of T. gondii in children from Jardim São Remo was compared to the prevalence in children from other urban centers of Brazil.

Toxoplasma gondii is a protozoan parasite that infects humans and other warm-blooded animals; it uses feral and domestic cats as the definitive hosts. Neospora caninum is a protozoan parasite of animals whose life cycle is very similar to T. gondii but uses canids as definitive hosts. Small rodents play an important role in the life cycle of T. gondii , and a few findings indicated that they may be natural intermediate hosts for N. caninum . The present study was aimed at identifying infections by T. gondii and N. caninum in urban rodents. Infections by T. gondii were quantified using isolation of the parasite by bioassay in mice; molecular methods were also used for both parasites. Overall, 217 rodents were captured. Brain and heart tissues of all rodents were bioassayed in mice for the detection of T. gondii infection. Brain and heart tissues of 121 rodents had the DNA extracted for molecular analysis. Toxoplasma gondii was isolated by bioassay from a single rodent. From the 121 rodents tested for the presence of T. gondii DNA, 2 animals were positive. In contrast, DNA of N. caninum was not detected in any of the samples. In conclusion, the surveys of N. caninum and T. gondii infection in Rattus rattus , Rattus norvegicus , and Mus musculus captured in urban areas of São Paulo reveal a striking low frequency of occurrence of these infections.

Mast cell tumors represent the most common malignant skin tumor in the dog. This review outlines the incidence, etiology and clinical signs of mast cell tumors. Diagnostic tests, staging and treatments are also discussed.

Á professora e amiga Dra Solange Gennari, pelo companheirismo e orientação em todos esses anos Ao Prof. Dr. Rodrigo Soares pelo auxílio em todas as etapas envolvendo as técnicas de biologia molecular À Dra Hilda F. Pena pelos ensinamentos em técnicas de laboratório e pela realização da genotipagem do isolado de T. gondii desse estudo. Aos funcionários Pedro, pelos cuidados com os camundongos do biotério e auxílio na captura dos roedores, Renato, pelo auxílio nos laboratórios e Antonio (Tonhão) também pela auxílio na captura dos roedores. À Sheila e toda a "turma" do LABMAS (Laboratório de Biologia Molecular e Sorologia Aplicada), VPS-FMVZ-USP, pelo acolhimento e auxílio quando da necessidade da utilização das instalações, equipamentos e materiais do laboratório. A estagiária Luciana Nunes de Oliveira e a então residente Leandra Ribeiro Ferreira, pelo auxílio com a realização dos bioensaios, além da captura de roedores pela última. As mestrandas Estela G. Lopes e Mikaela R. Funada, pelo ensinamento e auxílio na execução das técnicas de extração de DNA Às mestrandas Patrícia de O. Esmerini e Mikaela R. Funada pelo auxílio com a realização das reações de nested PCR.