Abstract
Toxoplasmosis is an important cause of abortion in sheep and a zoonotic risk to humans, leading to significant hazards to health and to economic losses. This study examined the seroprevalence and associated risk factors for infection with Toxoplasma gondii in 379 sheep from 12 flocks in Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil. Using the modified agglutination test (MAT), 202 (53.3 %) of 379 were seropositive with titers of 1:25 in 65, 1:50 in 40, 1:100 in 23, 1:200 in 11, 1:400 in 36, 1:800 in 7, 1:1,600 in 1, and 1:3,200 or higher in 19 sheep. The most significant factors associated with T. gondii seropositivity in sheep were age, gender, and veterinary care. Finding of T. gondii antibodies in 97 of the 202 sheep in titers of 1:100 or higher is indicative of persistently infected animals. This high level of seropositivity requires urgent control measures to reduce impact on animal productivity and public health.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank FAPERJ (Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the financial support of this project. We are also very grateful for the collaboration of Felipe Zandonadi Brandão and Andressa Ferreira da Silva. EFT is a scholar of CAPES/FAPERJ. WL, FCRO and AMRF are fellows of CNPq.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical statement
This study was approved by the Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee of Universidade Federal Fluminense under protocol no. 00111/09.
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Cosendey-KezenLeite, R.I.J., de Oliveira, F.C.R., Frazão-Teixeira, E. et al. Occurrence and risk factors associated to Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Trop Anim Health Prod 46, 1463–1466 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-014-0667-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-014-0667-5