Retrospective study of the occurrence of brucellosis in cattle from Para state, Brazil

Abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by Brucella sp. Bovine brucellosis is present in over 128 countries. It is considered an endemic disease in Brazil and was diagnosed in all states. In relation to brucellosis, little is known about their prevalence in cattle herds from Pará state, Brazil. Thus, this study aims to determine the occurrence of cattle serum reagent to brucellosis by a retrospective study of the results of serological tests from private laboratories in different regions of from Pará state, Brazil. We selected three laboratories for the diagnosis of brucellosis located in the municipalities of Santarém, Novo Repartimento and Tomé-Açu. The animals tested for brucellosis were all older than 24 months. We obtained a total of 7,724 test results from 14 municipalities. For the diagnosis of brucellosis it was performed agglutination test with buffered acidified antigen. Qui-square test was performed to assess the possible risk factors for brucellosis prevalence in relation to macro and micro region, animal category and breed, and Fisher's exact test was applied for the factors sex and vaccination history of the herd. We observed 792 positive cattle, resulting in an average prevalence of 10.25%. The prevalence was higher in cows and heifers when compared to bulls, and consequently higher in females compared to males. Herds vaccinated against brucellosis showed lower prevalence in relation to properties without vaccination. These results indicate that brucellosis is widespread throughout the state of Pará, with a high prevalence of this disease. This results show the importance of convinces the cattle farmers and veterinaries of the importance of control this disease in the state. Keywords: Brucellosis, Amazon, cattle, survey.