An outbreak of caprine toxoplasmosis - investigation and case report

Abstract

The present study aimed to investigate an abortion outbreak in a dairy goat herd in the municipality of Arapoti, Parana, Brazil. At the beginning of the outbreak, blood samples were collected from 33 goats with clinical signs; later, of the whole goat herd, two cats and two dogs. Milk samples were collected from 78 lactating goats. Four environmental soil samples and four samples of feed residue from goat feeders were collected too. Immunofluorescence antibody test (IFA) was used for serodiagnosis, the molecular analysis was conducted by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for the isolation of the etiological agent the bioassay was used. The results of the IFA revealed that 76.53% (137/179) of the goats, two dogs and two cats were seropositive for Toxoplasma gondii. Bioassay revealed one buffy coat and two milk sample having viable T. gondii. In the PCR, 11 whole blood samples, eight milk, three feeder troughs, and all soil samples were positive. The findings of the present study confirmed an outbreak caused by environmental contamination (of soil and feed) with T. gondii oocysts that could have been shed by kittens that lived on the farm and had access to the stock of goat food, facilitating this contamination, which reinforces the need for veterinary assistance and good management practices on farms.

Toxoplasmosis outbreak in sheep in northern-central Paraná, Brazil

“…Domestic cats had access to the entire property, including the feed storage, where mice were present. It is possible that the feces of these cats contaminated the feed of the sheep, as previously reported by J. M. Ferreira et al (2018b). However, no environmental samples tested positive for T. gondii.…”

“…The acute infection justifies the high titers in seroreagents in this outbreak, in which 54 of the 61 samples considered positive (84.88%) obtained titers ≥ 4,096, of which 7.40% (4 out of 54) reached 4,194,304. Furthermore, J. M. Ferreira et al (2018b) reported an outbreak of toxoplasmosis in a goat herd in the municipality of Arapoti, Paraná, Brazil, in which 76.53% (137 out of 179) of the animals were seropositive for T. gondii with significant prevalence; however, majority of the animals had titers ≤ 4,096. It is noteworthy that sheep and goats have similar habits and management such as ingestion of low pastures closer to the soil, as well as greater sensitivity to the parasite.…”