Prevalence of Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii in sheep and dogs from Guarapuava farms, Paraná State, Brazil.

Sheep and dog blood samples were collected from nine farms in the county of Guarapuava, Paraná, Brazil. The indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFAT) was used to detect Neospora caninum and Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. Herein, serum samples from 305 sheep were evaluated, being 29 (9.5%) and 157 (51.5%) seropositives to N. caninum and T. gondii, respectively. Seven (29.1%) and five (20.8%) out of 24 dogs were seropositives to N. caninum and T. gondii, respectively. There were no differences among the sheep serology for N. caninum and reproductive problems, management and animal feeding variables, neurological problems and presence of other animals species on the farm (P>or=0.05). The simultaneous frequency of antibodies between N. caninum and T. gondii was 5.2% in the herds. Age, breed, farm size, semi-intensive activity, mineral salt supplementation, water origin, stage of the pregnancy when reproduction problems occurred, neurological problems in lambs, presence of rodents in the food room and pasture cat access were identified as associated factors for the occurrence of toxoplasmosis in sheep (P<0.05). There were no differences among the seropositivity in dogs for N. caninum and T. gondii and breed, age and sex (P>or=0.05). The present work is the first report on serum prevalence of N. caninum in sheep from the state of Paraná, Brazil.

Ocorrência de enteroparasitos em amostras de alface (lactuca saliva) comercializadas em porto Murtinho - MS / Enteroparasites occurrence in lettuce samples (lactuca sativa) commercialized in porto Murtinho - MS / Presencia de enteroparásitos en muestras de lechuga (Lactuca sativa) consumidas en porto murtinho - MS

A freqüência de parasitos em hortaliças é de grande importância para a saúde pública, pois fornece dados para a Vigilância Sanitária sobre a real situação higiênico-sanitária desses produtos. O presente trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar a ocorrência de ovos de enteroparasitos em amostras de alface (Lactuca sativa) comercializadas no município de Porto Murtinho, MS, e relacioná-los à origem dos estabelecimentos comerciais. Amostras de alface foram coletadas aleatoriamente em diferentes locais de comércio, sendo eles: hipermercados, frutarias, vendedores ambulantes, mercados, hortas e feiras livres. O material foi processado segundo técnica descrita por Oliveira e Germano (1992). Das 59 amostras de alfaces analisadas, 54 (91,52) foram positivas, sendo 18 (30,5) amostras positivas para Ascaris sp., 13 (22,03) para Trichuris sp, 12 (20,34) para Ancilostomatidae, oito (13,56) para Strongyloides sp. e três (5,09) para Toxocara sp. Com relação à origem dos estabelecimentos que comercializavam alface, 18 amostras foram obtidas diretamente de hortas (dezoito positivas); 12 amostras foram coletadas em frutarias (dez positivas); dez amostras coletadas nos hipermercados (oito positivas); nove amostras de vendedores ambulantes (nove positivas); seis amostras de feiras livres (seis positivas) e quatro amostras coletadas em mercados (três positivas). Estes resultados sugerem que as alfaces comercializadas em Porto Murtinho, Mato Grosso do Sul, apresentam condições higiênicas precárias, evidenciada pela alta freqüência de formas parasitárias encontradas.

Occurrence of parasites in vegetables is very important to the public health, because it supplies information to the Health Surveillance on the real hygienical-sanitary situation of these products and the risks in their production. The aim of this work was to evaluate the occurrence of enteroparasites lettuce samples (Lactuca sativa) commercialized in the town of Porto Murtinho, MS, and to relate it to the origin of the commercial establishments. Samples of lettuce were colleted randomly from different types of commerce: supermarkets, fruits venders, ambulant venders, markets, vegetables gardens and free fairs. The material was processed according to technique describe by Oliveira and Germano (1992). A number of 59 samples of lettuce was analyzed 54 (91.52) positive ones, 18 (30.5) positive samples for Ascaris sp., 13 (22.03) for Trichuris sp., 12 (20.34) for Ancilostomatidae, eight (13.56) for Strongyloides sp. and three (5.09) for Toxocara sp. In reference to the establishments that commercialized lettuce had been collected 18 samples in vegetables gardens and all were positive for some parasite; were collected 12 samples in the fruits venders and ten were positive; in the supermarkets with ten collected samples and eight positive; in ambulant with nine and fairs free with six samples and all positive they; and markets, with four collected samples and three positive. These results suggest that the lettuces marketed in Porto Murtinho, Mato Grosso do Sul, present precarious hygienic conditions, evidenced by the high frequency in found parasitic ways.

La presencia de parásitos en las verduras es de gran importancia al conocimiento de la salud pública, pues proporciona a la Vigilancia de Salud la información de la situación higiénico-sanitaria verdadera de estos productos y los riesgos en su producción. La investigación tuvo como objetivo evaluar la ocurrencia de los huevos de los enteroparásitos en las muestras de lechuga (Lactuca sativa) consumidas en la ciudad de Porto Murtinho, MS, y relacionarla con el origen de los establecimientos comerciales. Las muestras de lechuga fueron recogidas aleatoriamente en diferentes locales del comercio: supermercados, fruterías, vendedores ambulantes, mercados, huertos y ferias libres. El material se procesó según la técnica descripta por Oliveira y Germano (1992). Las 59 muestras de lechugas analisadas 54 (91.52) eran positivas. Tras el análisis se verificó que 54 (91,52) muestras fueron positivas, siendo 18 (30.5) muestras positivas para el Ascaris sp., 13 (22.03) para el Trichuris sp., 12 (20.34) para Ancilostomatidae, 8 (13.56) para el Strongyloides sp. y 3 (5.09) para el Toxocara sp. Con relación al origen de los establecimientos que comercializaban lechuga, 18 muestras fueron obtenidas directamente de huertos (dieciocho positivas); 12 muestras fueron recogidas en fruterías (diez positivas); 10 muestras recogidas en los supermercados (ocho positivas); 09 muestras de vendedores ambulantes (nueve positivas) ; 06 muestras de ferias libres (seis positivas) y 04 muestras recogidas en mercados (tres positivas). Estos resultados sugieren que las lechugas comercializadas en Porto Murtinho, Mato Grosso do Sul, presentan las condiciones higiénicas inciertas, evidenciadas por la alta frecuencia de parásitos encontrados.

Toxoplasma gondii: I.Avaliaçäo da virulência de oito amostras / Toxoplasma gondii: I.Evaluation of the virulence of eight strains

Oito amostras T. gondii - LIV IV, LIV V e S 11 isoladas de suínos, RH e VPS de seres humanos, AS 28 de camundongos, HV III de cäo e CN de gato - foram inoculadas em camundongos suíços albinos e em coelhos com o objetivo de avaliar a virulência e a patogenicidade. As oito amostras apresentaram-se altamente virulentas para camundongos, matando todos os animais que receberam inóculo, via intraperitoneal, de 10 elevado a quarta potência taquizoitas, entre 6,0 e 7,8 dias, em média, após a inoculaçäo. As amostras isoladas mais recentemente, LIV V e HV III (DL50 subscrito de 7 e 15 taquizoítas, respectivamente) foram as mais virulentas. A amostra RH foi a que apresentou a menor virulência, com DL50 subscrito de 3.160 taquizoítas. A amostra LIV V também se mostrou mais virulenta para coelhos, porém, como foram inoculados apenas 2 animais, estudos posteriores devem ser realizados para confimar este achado

[Resistance of Toxoplasma gondii to sodium chloride and condiments in pork sausage]. / Resistência do Toxoplasma gondii ao cloreto de sódio e aos condimentos em linguiça de suínos.

The aim of this study was to determine the resistance of Toxoplasma gondii cysts to salt (sodium chloride) and condiments (black pepper and garlic) in fresh sausages prepared with experimentally infected pork. The sausages were treated with 1.25, 2.00, and 2.50% salt with condiments added, and were refrigerated for 2, 24, and 48 hours, after which they were artificially digested. Mice were then inoculated with the digested matter. After 42 days the surviving mice were sacrificed and their serum examined using indirect immunofluorescence to detect anti-T. gondii antibodies. This examination showed that the treatments with salt over periods of less than 24 hours did not eliminate the parasite, and that only after 48 hours did the salt, at concentrations of 2.00 and 2.50%, effectively kill the parasite. The results of this experiment also showed that the condiments had no effect on the viability of T. gondii.