Toxoplasma gondii in fresh pork sausage and seroprevalence in butchers from factories in Londrina, Paraná State, Brazil.
The aims of this study were to verify the presence of Toxoplasma gondii cysts in fresh pork sausage and the presence of antibodies against T. gondii in serum of workers from factories with Municipal Inspection Service, in Londrina, PR, Brazil. 149 samples of sausage were collected from eight factories and blood samples from 47 workers. We also took information about the practices that were adopted in the factories and the workers' habits that could influence the prevalence of toxoplasmosis. After bioassay in mice, 13 (8.7%) sausage samples were positive, in one of them T. gondii was isolated and in the other 12 the mice seroconverted. Of 47 workers, 36 (76.6%) worked in sausage production and 11 (23.4%) were involved in other functions; 59.5% (28/47), 55.5% (20/36) and 72.7% (8/11), respectively, had T. gondii antibodies. There were no significant differences in the variables of industries' practices and workers' habits related to T. gondii infection. We concluded that fresh pork sausage could be important in the transmission of toxoplasmosis.
Dias
Rafael André Ferreira
RA
Programa de Pos-Graduaçao em Ciência Animal, Sanidade Animal, DMVP, UEL, Londrina, Paraná, Brazil.
Navarro
Italmar Teodorico
IT
Ruffolo
Bruno Bergamo
BB
Bugni
Felipe Monteiro
FM
Castro
Marcelo Viana de
MV
Freire
Roberta Lemos
RL
D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D016266:Food Parasitology; D005525:Food-Processing Industry; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008461:Meat Products / Q000469:parasitology*; D051379:Mice; D015995:Prevalence; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013552:Swine; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014123:Toxoplasmosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan