Toxoplasma gondii antibodies sheep in Lages, Santa Catarina, Brazil, and comparison using IFA and ELISA.
Toxoplasmosis in sheep is a disease of great importance in veterinary medicine, which causes economic losses in livestock and has a great impact on human health, since consumption of infected meat facilitates transmission of zoonotic infections. Blood samples from sheep (n = 360) were collected from 13 farm properties in the municipality of Lages, Santa Catarina, to estimate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis and identify risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii infection. T. gondii, antibodies were investigated by means of the indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Animals infected with T. gondii were found on 100% of the farms. IFA detected 56.9% (205/360) and ELISA 42.5% of the infected sheep. Breed was the only risk factor associated with the presence of T. gondii antibodies. ELISA showed sensitivity of 61%, specificity of 82% and kappa of 0.41, which was considered moderate. This allows use of ELISA as an alternative technique for diagnosing T. gondii in sheep.
Laboratório de Parasitologia e Doenças Parasitárias, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Lages, SC, Brasil. franstefen@yahoo.com.br
Francine Bragagnolo Liz Stefen
FB
Sakata
Valdomiro
V
Bellato
Amélia Aparecida
AA
Sartor
Anderson Barbosa
AB
de Moura
Antonio Pereira
AP
de Souza
Juliana Antunes
JA
Farias
D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D008297:Male; D012756:Sheep; D012757:Sheep Diseases / Q000097:blood* / Q000469:parasitology*; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000097:blood*
D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan