Detection of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies in beef cattle slaughtered on Guarapuava city, Paraná State, Brazil.

Abstract

With the aim to determine the occurrence of antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii in beef cattle of the region of Guarapuava, Paraná State, Brazil and to correlate this with the age, the sex and the breed of the animals, samples of blood of 250 bovine were obtained and sent to the Zoonoses and Public Health Laboratory of the Preventive Veterinary Medicine Department of the State University of Londrina. After getting the serums, these were stored to -20ºC, up to the realization of the examinations. The detection of antibodies anti-T. gondii was carried out by IFAT (cut off ≥1:64). The statistical analysis was carried out through Fisher's exact and of qui-square tests (p≤0,05) to correlate the results of the serology with the analyzed variables. Of 250 evaluated samples of serum, 77 (30.8 %) were positive for T. gondii. The titles obtained were 1:64 (70) and 1:256 (seven). The results demonstrate large distribution of the protozoa among beef cattle in the region of Guarapuava, PR. Animals seropositives were present in 56% (14/25) evaluated properties. Animals mix breed presented higher rates of seropositives for T. gondii (P=0.001). The age presented positive correlation with the occurrence of antibodies against T. gondii (P=0.01), indicating horizontal transmission of the agent. The high incidence of beef cattle positives to T. gondii observed in this work indicates the potential risk of the consumption of meat cattle for the human toxoplasmic infection.