CLINICAL, HEMATOLOGICAL, AND SEMINAL ALTERATIONS AND PARASITEMIA OF MALE GOATS EXPERIMENTALLY INFECTED WITH Toxoplasma gondii

Abstract

Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease that affects reproductive performance in small ruminants. Although the Toxoplasma gondii life cycle is well understood since 1960s, several aspects related to its infection remains unclear. This study aimed to determine the effects of T. gondii experimental infection, and the influence on clinical, hematological, parasitemia and seminal parameters in male goats. Nine animals were selected and distributed in three groups: GI (n=3) – control group (placebo) orally inoculated with saline solution; GII (n=3) – subcutaneously inoculated with 1 x 10⁶ tachyzoites of T. gondii; and GIII (n=3) – orally inoculated with 2 x 10⁵ oocysts of T. gondii. After that, clinical exams, serological tests, hemograms, parasitemia determination and semen evaluation were performed. Reciprocal serological titers had highest values of 4096 in both groups of goats infected with T. gondii, confirming the experimental infections. However, we could not observe clinical changes (except for mild hyperthermia on the 5^th DAI in one of the animals - GIII) or in hematimetric parameters. Although there were some statistically significant changes (P <0.05) on the percentages of pathology and sperm concentrations in some of the dates between the infected and control animals, these changes were not associated with toxoplasmic infection. Infection was associated with animal handling methods and environmental factors.

Keywords: experimental infection; IFI; reproductive diseases; small ruminant; toxoplasmosis.