SEROPREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH Toxoplasma gondii INFECTION IN HUMANS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTACT WITH DOMESTIC CATS (Felis catus) IN SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE DO SUL

Authors

  • Luciana Siqueira Silveira dos Santos Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.
  • Aline Machado Carvalho Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.
  • Cíntia Lidiane Guidotti Aguiar Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.
  • Beatris González Cademartori Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.
  • Nara Amélia da Rosa Farias Departamento de Microbiologia e Parasitologia, Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, Brazil.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5216/rpt.v44i2.36640

Keywords:

Toxoplasmosis, risk factors, cats, epidemiology.

Abstract

Toxoplasma gondii is the agent of a protozoan zoonotic disease of public health importance,toxoplasmosis, which may have serious consequences on the infected species. Cats are definitivehosts of the protozoan, and once infected, shed oocysts that sporulate in the environment and maybecome a source of infection for humans. The results reported by different authors about contactwith pet cats as a risk factor for human infection are controversial. In this study, serum samples from108 individuals who own or owned cats, and from 110 individuals who do not like cats and neverowned one, were analyzed for the presence of IgG antibodies to Toxoplasma gondii through IndirectImmunofluorescence (IFI). An epidemiological questionnaire was also applied. The seroprevalencewas 39.8% for the 108 individuals who owned cats and 26.4% for the 110 individuals who neverowned cats. The analysis of risk factors showed significant association between seropositivity andthe variables: aged over 31 years (p=0.0000), contact with cats (p=0.0143), and handling of rawmeat (p=0.0290). Our findings indicate that even in a population with a high education level, contactwith cats may double the chances of infection with T. gondii, when the animals are not kept indoorsand under adequate sanitary conditions.

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Published

2015-07-08

How to Cite

DOS SANTOS, L. S. S.; CARVALHO, A. M.; AGUIAR, C. L. G.; CADEMARTORI, B. G.; FARIAS, N. A. da R. SEROPREVALENCE AND FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH Toxoplasma gondii INFECTION IN HUMANS AND ITS RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTACT WITH DOMESTIC CATS (Felis catus) IN SOUTHERN RIO GRANDE DO SUL. Revista de Patologia Tropical / Journal of Tropical Pathology, Goiânia, v. 44, n. 2, p. 135–145, 2015. DOI: 10.5216/rpt.v44i2.36640. Disponível em: https://revistas.ufg.br/iptsp/article/view/36640. Acesso em: 16 aug. 2024.

Issue

Vol. 44 No. 2 (2015)

Section

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

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