Occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic rabbits of Northeastern Brazil

Débora Costa Viegas de Lima; André de Souza Santos; Luana Thamires Rapôso da Silva; Renata Pimentel Bandeira de Melo; José Givanildo da Silva; José Wilton Pinheiro Júnior; Rinaldo Aparecido Mota

doi:10.1515/ap-2016-0066

Article

Occurrence of Toxoplasma gondii in domestic rabbits of Northeastern Brazil

Débora Costa Viegas de Lima , André de Souza Santos , Luana Thamires Rapôso da Silva , Renata Pimentel Bandeira de Melo , José Givanildo da Silva , José Wilton Pinheiro Júnior and Rinaldo Aparecido Mota

Published/Copyright: July 21, 2016

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From the journal Acta Parasitologica Volume 61 Issue 3

Abstract

The present study aimed to conduct a serosurvey of toxoplasmosis in domestic rabbits of Northeastern Brazil. Blood samples and tissue fragments (brain, heart and diaphragm) were collected from 150 and 54 rabbits from the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, respectively. The serum samples were subjected to serological analysis (Modified Agglutination Test – MAT) and the tissue samples were assessed by PCR and histopathological analysis. Data collected through questionnaires were subjected to analysis of risk factors. According to the MAT and the PCR results, 6.7% (10/150; CI 3.2%–11.9%) of the rabbits were positive for anti-T. gondii antibodies and 9.25% (5/54) of the tissue fragments were positive for T. gondii DNA, respectively. Lesions associated with T. gondii infection, mainly characterized by granuloma, mononuclear cell infiltrates, degeneration areas and necrosis in brain and heart, were detected in the histopathological analysis. The risk factors associated with T. gondii infection identified in the present study were homemade food (odds ratio = 39.00) and contact between cats and rabbits (odds ratio = 52.00). This is the first report of toxoplasmosis in rabbits of Northeastern Brazil. The management problems identified in the present study must be corrected to reduce the frequency of positive animals in herds of rabbits.

Keywords: Toxoplasmosis; MAT; PCR; Public Health

Acknowledgments

To the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – CAPES) for financial support. To Dr. J.P. Dubey (Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture – USDA) and Dr. J. C. Silva (Department of Veterinary Medicine – Federal University of Pernambuco – Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco – UFRPE) for providing the T. gondii antigen.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that no competing interests exist.

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Received: 2015-5-28

Revised: 2016-1-18

Accepted: 2016-3-3

Published Online: 2016-7-21

Published in Print: 2016-9-1

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https://doi.org/10.1515/ap-2016-0066

Keywords for this article

Toxoplasmosis; MAT; PCR; Public Health