RESEARCH ARTICLE


Toxoplasmosis in Sheep: A Potential Risk of Infection Among Residents and Farm Workers in Lajes, Brazil



Milena M. Clementino, Isabelle R. Barbosa, Valter F. Andrade-Neto*
Laboratory of Malaria Biology and Toxoplasmosis, Departamento de Microbiologia e ParasitologiaCB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte-UFRN, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, CEP 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil.

Article Information


Identifiers and Pagination:

Year: 2009
Volume: 3
First Page: 1
Last Page: 3
Publisher ID: TOPARAJ-3-1
DOI: 10.2174/1874421400903010001

Article History:

Received Date: 5/11/2008
Revision Received Date: 26/12/2008
Acceptance Date: 28/12/2008
Electronic publication date: 22/1/2009
Collection year: 2009

Article Metrics

CrossRef Citations:
3
Total Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 375
Abstract HTML Views: 669
PDF Downloads: 339
Total Views/Downloads: 1383
Unique Statistics:

Full-Text HTML Views: 285
Abstract HTML Views: 478
PDF Downloads: 264
Total Views/Downloads: 1027



Creative Commons License
© 2009 Clementinoet al;

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Correspondence: * Address correspondence to this author at the Laboratory of Malaria Biology and Toxoplasmosis, Departamento de Microbiologia e ParasitologiaCB, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte-UFRN, Av. Senador Salgado Filho, Campus Universitário, CEP 59072-970, Natal, RN, Brazil; Tel: +55 84 3215-3437; Fax: +55 84 3211-9210; E-mail: aneto@cb.ufrn.br


Abstract

The Toxoplasma gondii protozoan is prevalent in most areas of the world, causing veterinary and medical impact. The aim of this study was to make a seroepidemiological report and identify risk factors for human toxoplasmosis among residents and workers of sheep farms in Lajes, Brazil. For diagnosis, an indirect haemagglutination test was applied; the seroprevalence was detected. An interview was conducted with each participant, obtaining information on cultural and hygiene habits, age and environmental variables suspected to affect the risk of T. gondii. The analysis for association with risk factors did not show significant differences. However, our dates suggest that sheep farmers are at increased risk for Toxoplasma gondii.

Keywords: Toxoplasma gondii, Sheep, Risk factors, Occupational disease, Human toxoplasmosis.