Seroprevalence of and risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii in sheep raised in the Jaboticabal microregion, São Paulo State, Brazil

Prevalence and risk factors associated with anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in sheep from Bahia state, Brazil

“…Toxoplasma gondii prevalence found in this study is similar to that described by Ueno et al (2009), in Federal District (38.2%) and by Pinheiro et al (2009), in Pernambuco (32.9%); higher than that found by Soares et al (2009), in Rio Grande do Norte (20.7%) and Langoni et al (2011), in São Paulo (18.61%); and it lower than that found by Lopes et al (2010), in São Paulo (52%) -all Brazilian states. All studies aforementioned used the IFAT for serology investigation.…”

“…Risk factors such as age, contact with cats, breeding system, and water supply can be highlighted and have been previously identified in ovine toxoplasmosis in Brazil (ROMANELLI et al, 2007;PINHEIRO et al, 2009;LOPES et al, 2010;ROSSI et al, 2011). Considering the importance of toxoplasmosis and the lack of epidemiological information in the state of Bahia, the aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of T. gondii infection in sheep flocks from southern Bahia state and identify possible risk factors associated with the infection.…”

Occurrences of anti-Toxoplasma gondii and anti-Neospora caninum antibodies in sheep from four districts of Tocantins state, Brazilian Legal Amazon Region

“…With respect to the presence of cats, no statistical difference was observed (p>0.05) for T. gondii in the studied herd and, in addition, seropositive sheep had been also observed in properties where there were no cats. Similar results were found by Soares et al (2009), although Lopes et al (2010) reported a positive association among this variable, indicating that the presence and intimate contact with feline species is important in the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis. In addition, Romanelli et al (2007) observed that the number of cats present at the farm is a crucial factor for seropositive rate of T. gondii.…”

“…The results of the present work could be explained, at list in part, due to the extensive management system of the animals, once sheep raised in this system have greater probability of coming into contact with oocysts (Waltner-Toews et al 1991,Lopes et al 2010, although no significant association was observed between occurrence of T. gondii and the presence of cats in the herds. Additionally, it was confirmed the relevance of the weather in the occurrence of toxoplasmosis in sheep, since T. gondii oocysts survive longer in warm-moist than in cold dry atmospheres, as shown by Fleck (1972) and Fayer (1981).…”

“…Production of sheep is an important economic activity for several families in Tocantins state, but data regarding the occurrence of toxoplasmosis in Brazilian Legal Amazon (BLA) region are really scarce. The overall occurence of toxoplasmosis is Brazil ranges from 3.3% to 52.05%, depending on the serological test employed, sample size, region studied and cutoff of the tests (Moura et al 2007, Lopes et al 2010. In the present study, 13.74% of the animals presented antibodies anti-T. gondii, which is similar to 17.5% found in São Paulo State by Oliveira-Sequeira et al (1993) and 18.75% observed in Bahia State by Pita Gondim et al (1999) in Brazil.…”