Abstract
Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite capable of infecting almost all warm-blooded animals. Currently, studies assessing the viability of cysts present in sheep meat are still scarce, especially in the northeastern region of Brazil. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, isolate the parasite from tissue samples, and determine factors associated with infection of sheep intended for human consumption in the state of Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Serum samples from 205 sheep slaughtered in Paraíba were tested using the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT ≥ 64) for the presence of anti-T. gondii antibodies. Among the animals sampled, 30.7% (63/205) were seropositive, with antibody titers ranging from 1:64 to 1:16384. Sixty-one bioassays were performed in mice, and an isolation rate of 47.5% (29/61) was obtained. The infection was lethal to at least one infected mouse in 24.1% (7/29) of the bioassays. The mean length of survival of infected mice was 36.4 days. Females (OR = 3.183; CI = [1.452–6.976]), extensive breeding system (OR = 2.612; CI = [1.120–6.094]), and purebred animals (OR = 2.157; CI = [1.009–4.612]) were considered to be factors associated with infection. These results revealed that the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies and the percentage of viable cysts recovered from sheep destined for human consumption in Paraíba, northeastern Brazil, were high.
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The authors are grateful for the financial support received from the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES).
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SSS, VLRV, and TFF designed the experiments; SSS, VLRV, SPB, RFS, WFS, LNS, RAB, and CMO performed the experiments; SSS, VLRV, TFF, and AWLB analyzed the data; SSS, VLRV, and TFF wrote and edited the manuscript.
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The experiments conducted in this study were approved and performed according to the recommendations of the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals of the Federal Institute of Paraíba, Campus Sousa (CEUA-IFPB), under protocol number 23000.999663.2019- 71.
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Silva, S.S., Batista, S.P., Sarmento, W.F. et al. Seroprevalence and isolation of Toxoplasma gondii in sheep intended for human consumption in Paraíba, northeastern Brazil. Parasitol Res 120, 3925–3931 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07336-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07336-z