An outbreak of caprine toxoplasmosis--investigation and case report/ Surto de toxoplasmose caprina--investigacao e relato de caso

The present study aimed to investigate an abortion outbreak in a dairy goat herd in the municipality of Arapoti, Parana, Brazil. At the beginning of the outbreak, blood samples were collected from 33 goats with clinical signs; later, of the whole goat herd, two cats and two dogs. Milk samples were collected from 78 lactating goats. Four environmental soil samples and four samples of feed residue from goat feeders were collected too. Immunofluorescence antibody test (IFA) was used for serodiagnosis, the molecular analysis was conducted by means of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), for the isolation of the etiological agent the bioassay was used. The results of the IFA revealed that 76.53% (137/179) of the goats, two dogs and two cats were seropositive for Toxoplasma gondii. Bioassay revealed one buffy coat and two milk sample having viable T. gondii. In the PCR, 11 whole blood samples, eight milk, three feeder troughs, and all soil samples were positive. The findings of the present study confirmed an outbreak caused by environmental contamination (of soil and feed) with T. gondii oocysts that could have been shed by kittens that lived on the farm and had access to the stock of goat food, facilitating this contamination, which reinforces the need for veterinary assistance and good management practices on farms. Key words: toxoplasma, goats. IFA, PCR, bioassay. O presente estudo teve como objetivo investigar um surto de aborto em um rebanho de cabras leiteiras no municipio de Arapoti, Parana, Brasil. No inicio do surto, foram coletadas amostras de sangue de 33 cabras com sinais clinicos; mais tarde, de todo o rebanho caprino, dois gatos e dois cachorros. Foram obtidas amostras de leite das 78 cabras em lactagao. Quatro amostras ambientais de solo e quatro de residuos de comedouro tambem foram coletadas. O teste de imunofluorescencia (IFI) foi utilizado para o sorodiagnostico, a analise molecular foi conduzida por meio da reagao em cadeia da polimerase (PCR), para isolamento do agente etiologico utilizou-se o bioensaio. Os resultados da IFI revelaram que 76,53% (137/179) das cabras, todos os caes e gatos eram soropositivospara Toxoplasma gondii. O bioensaio revelou uma amostra de camada leucocitaria e duas de leite contaminadas com T gondii viavel. Na PCR, 11 amostras de sangue total, oito de leite, tres residuos alimentares e todas as amostras de solo foram positivas. Os resultados do presente estudo confirmaram um surto causado por contaminagao ambiental