Sheep Anti-Toxoplasma Antibody Prevalence in Uberlândia, Brazil

30.8% of 334 sheep blood samples from 12 properties in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, tested positive for anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. The study by Sandra Renata Sampaio Salaberry used an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFAT) with a 1:64 cut-off. Seropositivity frequency per property ranged from 10% to 66.7%, and a statistically significant association was found with animal age.

Use Cases

• Modeling risk factors for Toxoplasma gondii infection in sheep based on age, gender, and breed variables mentioned in the description.
• Estimating regional disease burden and informing preventive measures for a zoonotic parasite based on property-level seroprevalence data.
• Comparing seroprevalence rates across different livestock herds or geographic regions using the reported antibody detection methodology.

Strengths

• Includes 334 blood samples, providing a substantive sample size for analysis.
• Reports property-level seropositivity ranges from 10% to 66.7%, offering granularity.
• Identifies a statistically significant association between seropositivity and animal age.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the single municipality studied.

Provenance

Source

Sandra Renata Sampaio Salaberry

Collection Method

Indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFAT) test on blood samples.

Geography

Uberlândia municipality, Minas Gerais, Brazil