Differentiation between the acute and chronic stages in toxoplasma infection for modified agglutination teste and research of tachyzoites in milk from naturally infected ewes with Toxoplasma gondii

• Grant number: 07/07876-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: August 01, 2008
• End date: July 31, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Helio Langoni
• Grantee: Helio Langoni
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia (FMVZ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Botucatu. Botucatu , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis in sheep is a parasitic disease of great veterinary, husbandry and public health importance, causing productive and economic losses, besides the implication in human health, since the consumption of contaminated meat and milk can facilitate the zoonotic transmission. Toxoplasma gondii detection in sheep milk and the inexistence of reports in the literature about the differentiation of the acute and chronic phases of the disease in this species, motivated the elaboration of this research project. Naturally T. gondii infected sheeps in lactation will be used for the accomplishment. The possible elimination of the parasite in the milk will be searched by PCR's technique. The modified direct agglutination technique (MAT), with formalin (MAT-AF) or methanol (MAT-AM) fixed antigen will be used to differentiate the acute and the chronic phases of the toxoplasmic infection. This serological test constitutes a valuable tool for diagnosis, and it’s able to supply a fast result, with low costs, reproducibility and of high sensitity and specificity. (AU)