Some comments on the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in swine slaughter for human consumption

ABSTRACT. de Almeida W.M., Miranda Z.B., Flausino W., Coelho C.D. & Fonseca A.B.M. [Some comments on the epidemiology of toxoplasmosis in swine slaughter for human consumption.] Alguns comentários sobre a epidemiologia da toxoplasmose em suínos de abate para consumo humano. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(Supl.1):32-36, 2015. Curso de Pós-Gradua- ção em Medicina Veterinária, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Vital Brasil Filho, 64, Vital Brazil, Niterói, RJ 24230-340, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected] The presence of seropositive animals for Toxoplasma gondii indicates the possibility of risk to human health when they are slaughtered for human consumption. This study aimed to determine which variables observed in the piggery origin of animals sent to slaughter. Of pigs slaughtered under the supervision of the Inspection Service, 431 blood samples were collected randomly at the time of slaughter of the animals, where 250 samples were from animals coming from the state of Minas Gerais (MG) and 181 of the state of Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Of the samples, 8.26% (19/231) of MG and 27.46% (39/142) of RJ were seropositive for T. gondii in the IFT with a cutoff of 1:16. The analysis of the observed relative risk factors indicated that the type of Animal Inspection Service, the origin of the animals, the presence of rats in the piggery, the origin of the used water, hygienic and sanitary condition of piggery, routing of waste and disposal of the dead animals, they were significant. In this study, despite the low frequency of seropositive animals to T. gondii and the significant variables found, these indicate the possible source of infection for animals slaughtered for human consumption

Seropositive pigs to Toxoplasma gondii (Apicomplexa: Toxoplasmatinae) sent to slaughter and destined for human consumption

ABSTRACT. de Almdeida W., Miranda Z.B., Flausino W., Coelho C.D., Fonseca A.B.M. & Lopes C.W.G. [Seropositive pigs to Toxoplasma gondii (Apicomplexa: Toxoplasmatinae) sent to slaughter and destined for human consumption.] Suínos sororreagentes a Toxoplasma gondii (Apicomplexa: Toxoplasmatinae) enviados para abate e destinados ao consumo humano. Revista Brasileira de Medicina Veterinária, 37(4):397-400, 2015. Curso de Pós-Graduação em Medicina Veterinária - Higiene Veterinária e Processamento Tecnológico de Produtos de Origem Animal, Faculdade de Veterinária, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Rua Vital Brasil Filho, 64, Vital Brazil, Niterói, RJ 24230-340, Brasil. E-mail: [email protected] This study aimed to determine the frequency of pigs seropositive to Toxoplasma gondii by indirect immunofluorescence assay with cutoff 1:16. Of blood samples collected at slaughter, 250 of them were from animals raised in the State of Minas Gerais; while 181 were from the State of Rio de Janeiro with a total of 431 examined samples. Of these, 19/250 (4.41%) of MG and 39/181 (9.04%) of RJ, determining a total of 13.45% seropositive animals. Regardless of slaughter be under the control of the inspection service, the precedence of the animals was highly significant (p = 0.0001) in the number of seropositive animals. Although the percentage of seropositive animals to T. gondii from both regions studied in this work, and from the point of view of a public health problem, pork and its frescal type products may continue to be considered as a source of infection of this coccidia for humans, if they are consumed as raw or undercooked

Effects of polyethylene film wrap on cooler shrink and the microbial status of beef carcasses

The present study evaluated the use of polyethylene film wrapping of beef half carcasses and its effects on cooler shrink, cooling characteristics and microbial status of the half carcasses. Film wrapping reduced cooler shrink by 55.2%, 43.1%, 36.0% and 30% after 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of cooling, respectively, compared to the unwrapped half carcasses, whereas the surface water activity showed no significant differences among the time periods. The wrapped half carcasses had a lower cooling rate and higher surface and internal temperatures. The highest values of the aerobic mesophiles, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterobacteriaceae were found in the half carcasses wrapped in film. No significant differences were found in the values of Escherichia con. The polyethylene film was effective in reducing cooler shrink; however, it caused a delay in cooling, thereby enabling greater microbial occurrences and counts and impairing the hygienic and sanitary conditions of the carcasses, which may be an impediment to the practical application of this technology. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES

Farm animal welfare influences on markets and consumer attitudes in Latin America: the cases of Mexico, Chile and Brazil

In recent years, animal welfare has become an important element of sustainable production that has evolved along with the transformation of animal production systems. Consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare are changing around the world, especially at emerging markets of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Survey-based research on consumer attitudes towards farm animal welfare has increased. However, the geographical coverage of studies on consumer attitudes and perceptions about farm animal welfare has mostly been limited to Europe, and North America. Until now, Latin American consumers' attitudes towards animal welfare have not been well studied. Despite the fact that Mexico, Chile and Brazil belong to the same region (according to international organizations), there are marked differences between these countries in terms of their economical and geographical characteristics among other factors. Those differences potentially have an impact on consumer attitudes towards animal welfare and livestock production systems in general. Given the evidence from the literature review, it seems advisable that Latin American producers and food industry who engage in animal welfare-enhancing practices should clearly label their products with information on the type of husbandry system to reach those consumers who want to make an informed choice. Therefore, there are some aspects that need to be studied and cannot be worked separately in order to promote and understand consumer attitudes towards dairy and beef systems, such as geography, economic development, and politics.Vicerrectoria de Investigacion of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, Concurso Estadias y Pasantias Breves EPB16008 Facultad de Agronomia e Ingenieria Forestal of the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chil

Allogeneic, but not autologous, hematopoietic cell transplantation improves survival only among younger adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first remission: An individual patient data meta-analysis

Hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and prolonged chemotherapy are standard postremission strategies for adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia in first complete remission, but the optimal strategy remains controversial. There are no randomized trials of allogeneic HCT. In the present study, updated individual patient data were collected and analyzed from studies with information on availability of matched sibling donor (used to mimic randomization) and from randomized trials of autograft versus chemotherapy. Data from 13 studies including 2962 patients, excluding Philadelphia chromosome-positive patients, showed a survival benefit for having a matched sibling donor for patients < 35 years of age (OR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.70-0.90, P = .0003) but not for those ≥ 35 years of age (OR = 1.01; 95% CI, 0.85-1.19, P = .9; heterogeneity P = .03) because of the higher absolute risk of nonrelapse mortality for older patients. No differences were seen by risk group. There was a trend toward inferior survival for autograft versus chemotherapy (OR = 1.18; 95% CI, 0.99-1.41; P = .06). No beneficial effect of autografting was seen compared with chemotherapy in this analysis. We conclude that matched sibling donor myeloablative HCT improves survival only for younger patients, with an absolute benefit of approximately 10% at 5 years. Improved chemotherapy outcomes and reduced nonrelapse mortality associated with allogeneic HCT may change the relative effects of these treatments in the future