title: Occurrence of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies and parasite DNA in raw milk of sheep and goats of local breeds reared in Northeastern Brazil.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to detect Toxoplasma gondii DNA in raw milk samples of goats and sheep of local breeds from the semi-arid region of the states of Pernambuco and Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. Serum and milk samples were collected from 243 animals (186 goats and 57 sheep). The Indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was used to search for anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies with a cutoff of 64. Subsequently, the raw milk samples were subjected to DNA extraction and PCR to detect DNA of T. gondii. The IFAT results showed a 6.58% (16/243) positivity when all the samples were considered and a positivity of 15.78% (9/57) and 3.76% (7/186) for goats and sheep samples, respectively. The PCR assay detected T. gondii DNA in 2.06% (5/243) of all the samples tested. All the PCR positive samples were from goats. This result shows the importance of adopting measures of flock's sanitary management and avoiding the consumption of raw milk may constitute a potential risk to the health of milk consumers in this region.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil. Electronic address: givanildojgs@gmail.com.
authors.forename: José Givanildo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: da Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Bruno Henrique L S
authors.initials: BH
authors.lastname: Alves
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Renata Pimentel B
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Pomy Cássia P
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Orestes L
authors.initials: OL
authors.lastname: Souza Neto
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil; Veterinarian at Superintendência de Desenvolvimento do Nordeste (SUDENE), Praça Ministro João Gonçalves de Souza, s/n, Engenho do Meio, CP 50670-500 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mauro José G
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Bezerra
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Silvio G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Sá
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Doenças Infectocontagiosas dos Animais Domésticos, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco, Av. Dom Manoel de Medeiros, s/n, Dois Irmãos, CP 52171-900 Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rinaldo A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Mota
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan / Q000097:blood / Q000378:metabolism*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D001947:Breeding; D016054:DNA, Protozoan / Q000032:analysis; D005260:Female; D019084:Fluorescent Antibody Technique, Indirect; D006041:Goats; D008892:Milk / Q000469:parasitology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000662:veterinary; D012756:Sheep; D014122:Toxoplasma / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014124:Toxoplasmosis, Animal / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000469:parasitology
chemical_list: D000913:Antibodies, Protozoan; D016054:DNA, Protozoan
keywords: Milk; Protozoa; Small ruminants