Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, and Brucella abortus in sheep from Toledo, Parana, Brazil

Toxoplasmosis is a cosmopolitan disease caused by Toxoplasma gondii and is of great significance in animal production and public health, as evidenced by the two major outbreaks of the disease that occurred in Brazil at the cities of Santa Izabel do Ivai, Parana and Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Suu. Neospora caninum is the etiological agent of neosporosis, and Brucella spp. causes brucellosis, two of the major causes of reproductive failure in ruminants, causing problems such as abortion, and are responsible for significant economic losses in Brazilian sheep farming. Considering the scarcity of data available on the subject in the study region, the objective of our study was to evaluate seroprevalence of antibodies against T. gondii, N. caninum, and B. abortus in sheep in the municipality of Toledo, Parana, Brazil. From August 2017 to July 2018, 22 properties were visited, and 240 blood samples were collected from females and males of reproductive age. For detecting antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum, an Indirect Immunofluorescence technique was utilized, using cutoff points >= 64 and >= 50, respectively. For detecting antibodies against B. abortus, screening was conducted with Acidified Buffered Antigen and verification of reagent samples using the Slow Agglutination and 2-Mercaptoethanol test. Of the analyzed samples, 27.08% (65/240) had antibodies against T. gondii, which were distributed in 81.82% (18/22) of the properties; for N. caninum, there was a prevalence of 15.41% (37/240), and over 68.18% (15/22) of the properties. For B. abortus test results, all samples were considered negative. Our study demonstrated that most properties had animals positive for the protozoa, of which, majorly T. gondii, could cause abortion problems, it being one of the major agents. These epidemiological data provide a basis for strategic programs to implement monitoring and control measures to avoid economic losses in sheep farming.