Environmental risk factors for canine toxoplasmosis in a deprived district of Botucatu, SP, Brazil

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a worldwide zoonosis caused by Toxoplasma gondii that can infect a large variety of animals, including humans. The present study aimed to evaluate the frequency of anti-T.gondii antibodies in dogs from a peripheral district of Botucatu and to establish the association among some epidemiological variables in order to evaluate risk factors for toxoplasmosis infection. Serum samples from dogs were screened using an indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test. Anti-T.gondii antibody prevalence was 56%. The highest titer was 1024 (1.79%) and the most frequent titers were 16 (57.14%) and 64 (33.93%). The chi-square (X 2 ) test revealed significant association among variables such as dog access to street, ingestion of raw meat and presence of synantropic animals in the domestic environment. These results demonstrate that toxoplasmosis is present in dogs from Jardim Santa Elisa district.

Seroprevalence and incidence of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum infection in naturally exposed domestic dogs from a rural area of São Paulo state, Brazil

“…Previously, increased prevalence rates were observed in areas around forests (Mascolli et al, 2015) and rural areas compared with urban areas (Boa Sorte et al, 2015;Benitez et al, 2017a). The seroprevalence rates of T. gondii were high in this study, suggesting that preying upon infected animals may be an important factor in maintaining infection in the canine population, as previously observed (Navarro et al, 1992;Camossi et al, 2008). The chance of dogs becoming infected with T. gondii is exacerbated due to their close contact with soil and their carnivorous behavior (Dubey & Jones, 2008), preying on rodents and birds (Mascolli et al, 2015).…”

“…The chance of dogs becoming infected with T. gondii is exacerbated due to their close contact with soil and their carnivorous behavior (Dubey & Jones, 2008), preying on rodents and birds (Mascolli et al, 2015). In addition, the presence of synanthropic animals is a risk factor for dog seropositivity (Camossi et al, 2008), mostly among dogs with free access to streets. Drinking water from puddles is also a risk factor because parasite oocysts can survive in water for an extended period of time (Benenson et al, 1982;Bahia-Oliveira et al, 2003).…”

“…Dogs can also act as sentinel animals for human toxoplasmosis, although they are not a good indicator of human foodborne diseases (Benitez et al, 2017b) since some owners feed them homemade food including raw or undercooked meat that can contain parasites (Camossi et al, 2008;Salb et al, 2008). In addition, some dog behaviors, such as rubbing, smelling, or even eating cat feces, increase their role as an indirect vehicle for T. gondii transmission (Frenkel & Parker, 1996).…”

Seroepidemiology of Toxoplasmosis in Humans and Dogs From a Small Municipality in Parana, Brazil

“…In this study, 144/628 (22.93%) of pet dogs in urban area were fed only with commercial dog food, which may explain the lower prevalence (48.48%) detected among these animals. Higher anti-T.gondii antibodies prevalence in farm dogs (72.72 %) suggests that eating infected prey is an important source of infection (14,19,21,22) . In Brazilian urban dogs, the reported BENITEZ, A.N.…”

>b<Cães e gatos domésticos em Unidades de Conservação:>/b< uma abordagem de Saúde Única

“…Para O livre acesso à rua tem sido relatado como fator de risco para toxoplasmose em outros estudos (ALI et al, 2003;CAÑON-FRANCO et al, 2004;CAMOSSI et al, 2008;MOURA et al, 2009;DANTAS et al, 2013;BENITEZ et al, 2017b) e algumas considerações podem ser discutidas. Fora do domicílio, aumenta a possibilidade dos cães entrarem em contato com fontes diferentes e importantes de infecção, como ambientes contaminados (solo, poças d'água); alimentos contaminados (lixo, desperdício de alimentos) e animais sinantrópicos e/ou silvestres infectados que eventualmente são caçados por eles (CAMOSSI et al, 2008;DUBEY et al, 2012;BENITEZ et al, 2017b). Embora a maioria dos tutores tenha relatado que seus cães não caçam (62,47%), isso pode acontecer sem que eles saibam, principalmente porque a maioria dos cães costumava passear sem supervisão (56,84%) e tinha livre acesso à rua (61,95%).…”