Occurrence of anti-Brucella abortus and anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in buffaloes from Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil

The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of animals that tested positive for brucellosis and leptospirosis and the risk factors for these diseases in the State of Paraíba. A total of 136 buffaloes from 14 herds were examined. For brucellosis, we used the buffered acidified plate an...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Arthur Willian de Lima Brasil, Roberta Nunes Parentoni, Diego Figueiredo Costa, Carla Lauise Rodrigues Menezes Pimenta, Rafael Pádua Araújo, Antônio Bruno Guimarães Leal, Clebert José Alves, Sérgio Santos de Azevedo
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidade Estadual de Londrina 2015-07-01
Series:Semina: Ciências Agrárias
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Online Access:http://www.uel.br/revistas/uel/index.php/semagrarias/editor/submission/18575
Description
Summary:The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of animals that tested positive for brucellosis and leptospirosis and the risk factors for these diseases in the State of Paraíba. A total of 136 buffaloes from 14 herds were examined. For brucellosis, we used the buffered acidified plate antigen (BAPA) test as screening method and 2-mercaptoethanol as confirmatory test. For leptospirosis, we conducted a microscopic agglutination test (MAT), with a cut-off point of 1:100. Of the animals examined, two [1.5%; 95% CI = 0.4%–5.2%] were positive for brucellosis, and 38 (27.9%; 95% CI = 21.1%–36.0%) were positive for leptospirosis. The brucellosis-positive animals were from two (14.3%) herds, while nine (64.3%) herds had leptospirosis-seropositive animals. The more frequent Leptospira spp. serotypes were Bratislava, Pomona, and Canicola. We concluded that leptospirosis was widespread in buffaloes in the state of Paraíba and suggested that breeding alongside horses and pigs might be na important factor in the spread of leptospirosis-positive animals. The presence of brucellosispositive animals indicated the possibility of negative-impacting measures on disease control in bovines, and it is therefore recommended that greater attention be given to these animals for brucellosis control.
ISSN:1676-546X
1679-0359