title: Risk of infection by the consumption of liver of chickens inoculated with low doses of Toxocara canis eggs.
abstract: Experimental studies and registries of cases of human toxocariasis have shown that the consumption of raw or undercooked offal of the paratenic host of Toxocara canis may pose a risk of infection. Thus, we evaluated the risk of infection due to the consumption of liver of chickens inoculated with different doses of embryonated T. canis eggs. Doses were 5-100 times smaller than the ones previously employed in this type of study. Groups of five chickens were inoculated with 5000 (control), 1000, 500, 300 or 50 eggs of T. canis, and at 72 h post-inoculation, the liver of each bird was consumed by a BALB/c receptor mouse. Forty-eight hours after consumption, we examined the organs and carcasses of the mice for larvae of T. canis. All mice were positive for larvae, except the group that consumed the chicken liver inoculated with 50 eggs. This group contained only one positive mouse, in which the larva was lodged in the brain. In mice that consumed livers of chickens inoculated with ≥300 eggs, larvae concentration was primarily in the liver and lungs, characterizing the initial phase of infection. We conclude that the consumption of raw poultry liver, under the studied conditions, poses a risk of infection even with a low number of infected T. canis eggs.
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences - Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil; Post-Graduate Program in Health and Behavior, Universidade Católica de Pelotas (UCPel), Brazil. Electronic address: gisele_fd@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Gisele Ferreira
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.affiliation: Recipient of Beginning Scientific Scholarship, Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Nitza Souto França
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPEL), Brazil.
authors.forename: Luciana Farias da Costa
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: de Avila
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences - Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula Cardoso
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Dutra
authors.affiliation: Center for Technological Development - Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPEL), Brazil.
authors.forename: Paula de Lima
authors.initials: Pde L
authors.lastname: Telmo
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences - Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Lourdes Helena
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences - Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria Wolkmer Azambuja
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.affiliation: Post-Graduate Program in Health Sciences - Parasitology Laboratory, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos James
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Scaini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002645:Chickens; D005260:Female; D016266:Food Parasitology; D007814:Larva; D008099:Liver / Q000469:parasitology*; D008297:Male; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000635:transmission*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017166:Toxocara canis / Q000502:physiology*; D014120:Toxocariasis / Q000635:transmission*
keywords: Food; Oral transmission; Paratenic hosts; Toxocariasis; Viscera; Visceral larva migrans