Identification of an atypical strain of toxoplasma gondii as the cause of a waterborne outbreak of toxoplasmosis in Santa Isabel do Ivai, Brazil.

ABSTRACT: Multilocus DNA sequencing has identified a nonarchetypal strain of Toxoplasma gondii as the causal agent of a waterborne outbreak in Brazil in 2001. The strain, isolated from a water supply epidemiologically linked to the outbreak, was virulent to mice, and it has previously been identified as BrI. Using a serologic assay that detects strain-specific antibodies, we found that 13 (65%) of 20 individuals who were immunoglobulin (Ig) M positive during the outbreak possessed the same serotype as mice infected with the purported epidemic strain. The remaining 7 individuals, plus additional IgM-negative, IgG-positive individuals, possessed 1 of 4 novel serotypes, the most common of which matched the serotype of mice infected with strains isolated from chickens foraging near the outbreak site. Th

SUBMITTER: Vaudaux JD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5718918 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature