Toxoplasmose animal no Brasil

Toxoplasmosis is caused by Toxoplasma gondii, a parasite which belongs to the kingdom Protista, phylum Apicomplexa, order Eucoccidiida and family Sarcocystidae. It is an obligate intracellular coccidian, which naturally infects human beings, w ild and domestic animals, as well as birds. It is a geographically wide spread infection and it depends on some factors such as cli mate, social-economic and cultural conditions. The definitive hosts are members of the family Felidae. The infection occurs by the ingestion of oocysts, tachyzoites or bradyzoites, and in some species it also happens by transplacental and transmammary transmission. It is a disease of great importance for Public Health, because the alterations it causes in human fetuses, and co ncerning animal production due to abortion losses. Laboratorial diagnostics may be done by the demonstration of coccidian (parasitologic al), by indirect methods (immunologic) and by methods of molecular biology. This disease has treatment, but currently there are no vaccines for human toxoplasmosis, only a commercial vaccine for ovine and studies with other animal species.