Flávio Antônio Pacheco de Araujo

Detecção de anticorpos para Toxoplasma gondii em soro de suínos criados e abatidos em frigoríficos da região da grande Porto Alegre-RS, Brasil

This report objectived to contribuite with data about the antibodies occurence of Toxoplasma gondii in swine bred and slaughtered in the area of Great Porto Alegre- RS, Brazil. The data should supply with subsidies on the importance of this protozoan transmission through swines. Samples were taken from 240 swines at slaughterhouses in that region. The frequency of anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies, determinanet through the indirect hemagglutination technic was of 20% of serum equal or superior to 1:64 dilution. In the indirect immunofluorescence technic was found 33.75% in serum with a diluition equal to 1:16 or superior.

Soroepidemiologia de Toxoplasma gondii em gatos domiciliados atendidos em clínicas particulares de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

The sera of 245 cats from Porto Alegre, southern Brazil, were tested by indirect hemagglutination (IHA) and indirect immunofluorescence (IIF) in order to determine the frequency of Toxoplasma antibodies. Information such as breed, sex, age and access or not to the street and dietary habits were assessed using an epidemiological questionnaire and also statistical analysis for correlation with the serological results obtained. The test results showed rates of 26,9 and 37,9% for IHA and IIF, respectively, suggesting that these cats have acted as a source of environmental contamination at some time during the course of their lifetime, possibly shedding oocysts, especially those with free access to the street.

Protozoan parasites in captive chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) raised in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

The aim of the present study was to identify Giardia sp., Eimeria spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. in fecal samples of chinchillas, respectively raised on farms located in the cities of Gravatai and Porto Alegre (State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), Giardia sp. was detected in 8% of 250 samples. The variables age (p = 0.47) and gender (p = 0.07), submitted to Fisher’s exact test, were not related to the results obtained through the method of Faust et al. (1939) apud Hoffmann (1987). Oocysts of Eimeria spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. were not identified in any of the samples.

Comparação da infecção por protozoários em chinchila (Chinchilla lanigera) de uma criação comercial do município de Viamão-RS, Brasil, e de chinchilas no seu habitat natural, Chile

is a rodent native to Chile which is bred for commercial purposes. Parasiticdiseases, mainly giardiasis, may cause clinical and sanitary problems and lead to production andeconomic losses. Fecal samples were collected from 220 chinchillas pertaining to a commercialbreeding facility in southern Brazil and from 35 chinchillas from Las Chinchillas National Reserve inChile. All samples were analyzed using the method proposed by Faust et al. Positive samples for

Protection in a hamster model of congenital toxoplasmosis.

Almost uniform protection against congenital toxoplasmosis initiated by inoculations with cysts and oocysts of the parasite was seen in the hamster model, among strains of different genotypes. Because the RH immunization prior to pregnancy has to be controlled with medication for most of the hamsters to survive, and also some congenital transmission of Toxoplasma was observed during the chronic stage of the infection, the hamster is considered less practical than the rat and the BALB/c mouse models. It is concluded that the hamster model closely resembles protection against congenital infection in nature, where most of the pregnant women and ewes that experienced a toxoplasma infection previously, protect their fetuses against an infection with the parasite during pregnancy.

Eimeriosis in capybaras (Hydrochaeris hydrochaeris) in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

ABSTRACT Capybaras are the largest of living rodents and are the most common wild rodent in the state ofRio Grande do Sul, Brazil. They are commercially bred for their meat, hide, and oil. The presentstudy aims to shed some light upon intestinal protozoa of capybaras using Sheather’s methodmodified by Benbrook to analyze 250 fecal samples. The following Eimeria species were detected000in 52.4% of the fecal samples: E. trinidadensis, E. ichiloensis, E. boliviensis, in addition to anotherspecies that could not be identified. With regard to the total oocyst count, the relative frequency ofdifferent Eimeria species was as follows: E. trinidadensis (55%), E. ichiloensis (32.6%), E.boliviensis (4.8%), and an unidentified Eimeria species (7.6%). The unidentified species was called Eimeria araside sp.n. (Apicomplexa: Eimeriidae). Key words: capybara, Eimeria , faeces. that affects the small and/or large intestine and iscaused by different Eimeria species 4 . It usuallyoccurs among young animals, whereassuccessive infections in adult animals make theirbody develop a resistant immune system, turningthem into carriers of the disease

Freqüência de Giardia lamblia em cães atendidos em clínicas veterinárias de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil

The method of Faust et al. (1939) was utilized for detection of Giardia lamblia cysts in feces from dogs in Porto Alegre city, Rio Grande Sul State, Brazil. From the 526 analyzed samples 38% (198) showed positive results for the presence of G. lamblia cyst, so 22% (116) belonged to group one, formed by animals that were less than eleven months old; and 16% (82) belonged to group two, formed by animals that were twelve months or older. There was a significant difference (p<0,05) among the two groups checked by the ÷² test. From the animals researched, 54% (285) were male dogs and from these 20% (104) presented cysts in their feces. From the other 46% (241), which were female dogs, 18% (95) presented positive results for the cysts of G. lamblia in their sample. The ÷² test applied to these data showed that there was not any significant difference between the results found in female or male dogs of all ages. Based on these results, we can come to the conclusion that 38% of the analyzed dogs showed positive results for the infection of G. lamblia and that the younger animals those aged less than eleven months presented a rate of risk to get infected which is two times bigger than the ones for the animals with 12 months or older, as well as, the fact that the sex of the animals did not present any association to the positive results of infection.

Molecular and morphologic characterization of Sarcocystis felis (Apicomplexa: Sarcocystidae) in South American wild felids from Brazil.

Wild felids are thought to share parasites with domestic cats. However, little is known of the coccidian parasites of wild felids. We investigated the presence of Sarcocystis spp. in tissues of 6 species of 90 Neotropical small felids killed in road accidents in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil by using microscopic and molecular techniques. Formalin-fixed tissues from 28 felids were examined, and Sarcocystis felis-like sarcocysts were detected in 4 wild cats (2 Puma yagouaroundi and 2 Leopardus guttulus). By transmission electron microscopy, sarcocysts from a P. yagouaroundi were identical to S. felis from domestic cats in the USA. Direct sequencing of PCR amplicons resulted the unambiguous sequences of the ITS-1 region from 18 of the 31 PCR positive wild cats; 5 sequences from each P. yagouaroundi, and Leopardus geoffroyi, 4 sequences from L. guttulus, and 2 sequences from each Leopardus wiedii, and Leopardus colocolo. Sequences analysis of ITS-1 region revealed the highest identiy (97-99%) with that of previously describe isolates of S. felis from domestic cats in the USA and identified them as S. felis. Tissues of 1 Leopardus pardalis tested by PCR and histology were negative. The phylogenetic relationship indicated that S. felis is quite different to species which employ opossums as their definitive host. This is the first report of S. felis infection in small wild felids from Brazil.

DIAGNÓSTICO DE Anaplasma marginale UTILIZANDO-SE SANGUE COAGULADO PARA A DETERMINAÇÃO DA PARASITEMIA

A 6-month-old splenectomized calf was inoculated with blood from a cattle with Tick Fever. The clinical signs, rectal temperature and packed cell volume were observed between the 0 and 40th days. Blood and blood clot samples were collected from the calf on the 8th, 10th, 22th, 24th and 26th days. The following techniques were evaluated by the Anaplasma marginale parasitemia: thin blood smear of blood clot fragment and smear of a drop of blood clot. The slides were stained by the dilute and pure Giemsa methods. The results were acceptable and the authors propose the use of the three techniques to confirm an Anaplasma diagnosis.