Dynamics of natural infection by Toxoplasma gondii in goat herds in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil: transitional antibody observation

Author(s):  
Larissa Nascimento Sousa ◽  
Samira Pereira Batista ◽  
Samara Santos Silva ◽  
Rômulo Fylipe da Silva ◽  
Wlysse Ferreira Sarmento ◽  
...  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larissa Nascimento Sousa ◽  
Samira Pereira Batista ◽  
Samara Santos Silva ◽  
Rômulo Fylipe Silva ◽  
Wlysse Ferreira Sarmento ◽  
...  

Abstract This study aimed to describe the transmission of T. gondii in naturally infected goats in the semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, through evaluating the serological status of these animals from one to 12 months of age. Seven goat farms were selected. During the first visit, an epidemiological questionnaire was applied. Blood samples were collected from pregnant goats and from their female offspring every month, to monitor them for anti-T. gondii antibodies, using the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT). Out of 66 pregnant goats evaluated, 47% (31/66) (95% CI: 34.6% − 59.7%) were positive and out of 93 female offspring, 61.3% (57/93) (95% CI: 52.4% − 69.2%) were positive, in at least one month during the evaluation period. Among the positive female offspring, 43.3% (27/57) (95% CI: 39.7% − 56.9%) presented environmental infection and 56.7% (30/57) (95% CI: 43.4% − 66.3 %) probably had only colostral antibodies or vertical transmission. It was observed that 92,6% (25/27) from environmental infections occurred until reproductive age (six months) (p < 0.0001). It was also noted that there is a correlation between the titration of mothers and offspring, until four months of age (p < 0.0001). Large fluctuations in the presence of antibodies were observed among the animals over the months monitored. It can be concluded that the prevalence of anti-T. gondii antibodies within the herds was greater than what has been expressed in specific prevalence studies and that most sheep become infected up to the six months of life in the studied area.


2012 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 399-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carolina de Sousa Américo Batista Santos ◽  
Sérgio Santos de Azevedo ◽  
Herbert Sousa Soares ◽  
Severino Silvano dos Santos Higino ◽  
Hilda Fátima de Jesus Pena ◽  
...  

A cross-sectional study based on planned sampling was carried out to determine flock-level risk factors associated with Toxoplasma gondii antibody prevalence in dairy goat flocks in a semiarid region of northeastern Brazil. Serum samples from 975 adult dairy goats from 110 flocks were examined by indirect immonufluorescent antibody test (IFAT), using cut-off point at 1:64 dilution. From the 110 flocks, 77 presented at least one seropositive animal, corresponding to a prevalence of 70% (95% CI: 60.5-78.4%). Out of the 975 animals, 177 (18.1%; 95% CI = 15.8-20.7%) tested positive. The presence of toxic plants (OR = 5.11; P = 0.045) and the fact that goat breeding is not the main activity on the farm (OR = 3.34; P = 0.014) were identified as risk factors. The results of the present study showed evidence of the presence of T. gondii infection in dairy goats from a semiarid region of northeastern Brazil using planned sampling. Further studies are needed to elucidate the importance of the identified risk factors in the epidemiology of the infection.


2022 ◽  
Vol 86 ◽  
pp. 102457
Author(s):  
Samira Pereira Batista ◽  
Samara dos Santos Silva ◽  
Wlysse Ferreira Sarmento ◽  
Rômulo Fylipe Silva ◽  
Larissa do Nascimento Sousa ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Samara Santos Silva ◽  
Samira Pereira Batista ◽  
Wlysse Ferreira Sarmento ◽  
Rômulo Fylipe da Silva ◽  
Larissa Nascimento Sousa ◽  
...  

2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 341-351
Author(s):  
L. F. C. Rezende ◽  
B. C. Arenque-Musa ◽  
M. S. B. Moura ◽  
S. T. Aidar ◽  
C. Von Randow ◽  
...  

Abstract The semiarid region of northeastern Brazil, the Caatinga, is extremely important due to its biodiversity and endemism. Measurements of plant physiology are crucial to the calibration of Dynamic Global Vegetation Models (DGVMs) that are currently used to simulate the responses of vegetation in face of global changes. In a field work realized in an area of preserved Caatinga forest located in Petrolina, Pernambuco, measurements of carbon assimilation (in response to light and CO2) were performed on 11 individuals of Poincianella microphylla, a native species that is abundant in this region. These data were used to calibrate the maximum carboxylation velocity (Vcmax) used in the INLAND model. The calibration techniques used were Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), and data mining techniques as the Classification And Regression Tree (CART) and K-MEANS. The results were compared to the UNCALIBRATED model. It was found that simulated Gross Primary Productivity (GPP) reached 72% of observed GPP when using the calibrated Vcmax values, whereas the UNCALIBRATED approach accounted for 42% of observed GPP. Thus, this work shows the benefits of calibrating DGVMs using field ecophysiological measurements, especially in areas where field data is scarce or non-existent, such as in the Caatinga.


2015 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria T.S. Frade ◽  
Luiza F. de Melo ◽  
Clarice R.M. Pessoa ◽  
Jeann L. de Araújo ◽  
Rafael A. Fighera ◽  
...  

Infections by free-living amoebae can cause systemic disease in animals and humans. We describe the epidemiological, clinical and pathological aspects of disseminated acanthamoebiasis associated with canine distemper in three dogs of the semiarid region of Paraíba, Northeastern Brazil. Affected dogs developed progressive neurological and respiratory signs that progressed to death within in two to 20 days. Gross lesions were irregular and with yellow-reddish nodules randomly distributed in the lungs, heart, kidneys, spleen, lymph nodes, adrenals, and intestine. One dog had foci of malacia in the parietal cortex and another one in nucleus of brain basis. Histologically, pyogranulomas with areas of necrosis and hemorrhage in all organs affected were observed, associated with myriads of intralesional amoebic trophozoites. All three cases were concomitant canine distemper, that possibly triggered immunosuppression in the dogs. The diagnosis was performed through microscopic findings of infection by free-living amoebae and confirmed Acanthamoeba sp. by immunohistochemistry


2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (02) ◽  
pp. 80-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.S. Azevedo ◽  
H. F. de Jesus Pena ◽  
C. J. Alves ◽  
A. A. M. G. Filho ◽  
R. M. Oliveira ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 78 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Y. B. Oliveira ◽  
Cicero D. L. Oliveira ◽  
Ayanne J. G. Almeida ◽  
Alfredo O. Gálvez ◽  
Danielli M. Dantas

The temporal phytoplankton biomass variation at two Neotropical reservoirs during an extreme drought season were analyzed. Here we sought to evaluate the main abiotic factors involved in dynamics of phytoplankton during this drought period. The main difference between the reservoirs was the intensive fish and shrimp farming in one of the reservoirs. For quantitative analysis, sampling with bottles were carried out at an average depth of 0.5m. Water temperature, pH and electrical conductivity parameters were measured in situ and water samples were collected for dissolved inorganic nitrogen and soluble reactive phosphorus analyses. Aquaculture was probably one among the causes for the reservoirs were so different in the physical and chemical variables, as shown by the principal components analysis. The results showed specific groups dominance in both reservoirs. In the Cachoeira II reservoir, an invasive dinoflagellate, Ceratium furcoides, was present in all analyzed months, while, in the Saco I reservoir, cyanobacteria group represented more than 50% of phytoplankton biomass, mainly Microcystis aeruginosa and Dolichospermum sp. In two reservoirs precipitation, soluble reactive phosphorus and electrical conductivity were positively related with phytoplankton. Phytoplankton biomass was considerably larger in the Cachoeira II reservoir, due to the greater size and biovolume of the dominant dinoflagellate. These findings suggest that species dominance in extreme drought events may be favored.


Plant Disease ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 86 (10) ◽  
pp. 1178-1178 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. J. du Toit ◽  
M. L. Derie ◽  
T. Hsiang ◽  
G. Q. Pelter

Nine fields direct-seeded with onion (Allium cepa L.) were surveyed in central Washington in the spring and summer of 2001 for Botrytis species associated with onion seed crops produced in this semiarid region. Forty plants were sampled from each field in a ‘W’ pattern in April, and 20 plants were similarly sampled from each field in June and July. Each plant was placed in a separate plastic bag, stored at 4 ± 2°C for 3 to 5 weeks, sliced lengthwise using a knife sterilized with 70% ethyl alcohol, incubated in a moist chamber for 5 days, and examined under a dissecting microscope. Fungal growth resembling Botrytis spp. was transferred to acidified potato dextrose agar (PDA) for species identification based on colony morphology, rate of growth, and spore and sclerotium characteristics (3). Cultures were incubated on a laboratory bench at 24 ± 4°C with 8 to 16 h of daylight. A species resembling B. porri (3) was detected in 3 fields in April at an incidence ranging from 3 to 28%, and in 2 of the same 3 fields in each of June and July at incidences ranging from 5 to 10%. Infected plants were asymptomatic at the time of sampling. The isolates formed brown, cerebriform sclerotia and sporulated sparsely. Subsamples of seed harvested from each field were assayed for Botrytis spp. To detect internal infection, 400 seeds from each of the nine fields were soaked in 0.525% NaOCl for 60 s, triple-rinsed in sterile deionized water, air dried, placed on a selective agar medium (2) with 20 seed per 9-cm-diameter petri plate, and incubated at 24°C (12 h day/night) for 14 days. Seeds were examined 5, 10, and 14 days after plating, and fungi resembling Botrytis spp. were transferred to acidified PDA for species determination. Isolates resembling B. porri were detected in 0.75% of seed from two of the three fields in which this species was isolated from plant samples. The internal transcribed spacer 1 region of ribosomal DNA of four isolates of the putative B. porri (two from plant samples and two from seed) were sequenced, and all four sequences matched that of B. porri registered in GenBank (Accession No. Z99666) most closely. Botrytis porri is a pathogen of garlic (A. sativum L.), leek (A. porrum L.), and wild garlic (A. vineale L.), but can infect onion and shallot (A. ascalonicum L.) when inoculated on these hosts (1). To our knowledge, this is the first report of natural infection of onion by B. porri, and the first report of seedborne B. porri on onion. References: (1) W. R. Jarvis. Pathology. Page 62 in: Botryotinia and Botrytis Species: Taxonomy, Physiology, and Pathogenicity. Canada Department of Agriculture, Monograph No. 15, 1977. (2) G. Kritzman and D. Netzer. Phytoparasitica 6:3, 1978. (3) A. H. Presly. Plant Pathol. 34:422, 1985.


2011 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos Gomes Lopes ◽  
Ivete Lopes Mendonça ◽  
Kleber Portela Fortes ◽  
Marcos Amaku ◽  
Hilda de Fátima Jesus Pena ◽  
...  

This study aimed to evaluate the presence of antibodies against Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii and Leishmania infantum in dogs attended at the Veterinary Hospital of the Federal University of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil, where there are no reports of the occurrence of N. caninum and T. gondii in dogs. Serum samples from 530 dogs of genders, different ages and breeds from the municipality of Teresina and nearby towns were analyzed using three indirect fluorescent antibody tests, each one targeting one of the three agents. The associations between the parasites and gender, breed and age of the dogs were assessed by the chi-square test (p > 0.05). The occurrence of antibodies to N. caninum, T. gondii and L. infantum was 3.2, 18.0 and 78.1%, respectively. Toxoplasma gondii was more frequently found in older dogs (p < 0.05) whereas L. infantum was more common in animals aged between 1 to 3 years (p < 0.05). In order to evaluate potential associations between the presence of anti-N. caninum and anti-T. gondii antibodies and Leishmania infection, 240 dogs were selected (120 positive and 120 negative for Leishmania spp.), based on serological and parasitological diagnoses. No association was found between Leishmania spp. and the coccidian parasites (p > 0.05). The results confirm the exposure of dogs to these parasites in the State of Piauí.


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