Title: Padronização e aplicação de ensaio imunoenzimático para detecção de anticorpos IgG contra Toxoplasma gondii na saliva de escolares.
Abstract: Urban zoonoses affect large proportion of the population in tropical countries, specially school children.Those infections could be acquired by contact with pets, or ingestion of water or meat contaminated by agents.Education in preventive hygiene measures, as adequate cleaning and cooking are essential in this age group.Intensive teaching during short interventions by trained personal could be effective.Here, we study this type of educational intervention, using toxoplasmosis as a model, in 164 school children in the first years of elementary grades in a public São Paulo school, E.E.P.G.Antonio de Pádua Vieira, with saliva sampling.We had standardize a specific anti T. gondii IgG assay in etanol concentrade saliva.After 12 months, the knowledge of this population was tested by questionnaire.There are a 50% prevalence of contact with T.gondii during the intervention, showing the importance of zoonosis in this group.After one year, most children who assisted the intervention recalled correctly the main transmission ways of the zoonosis, showing fixation by short intervention, as compared to non-intervened shoolchildren of the same age group.Children who had no contact with T.gondii show higher recall proportion.Our data suggest that shorts interventions are effective in the knowledge fixation in schoolchildren and that saliva, a non invasive sampling, could be an alternative material for detection of contact with toxoplasmosis.