Soroprevalência de brucelose em bovinos abatidos no Matadouro Público de Patos, Estado da Paraíba.

Abstract

The seroprevalence of brucellosis was determined in bovine slaughtered in the Public Slaughterhouse of Patos city, state of Paraiba, Northeast region of Brazil. For this purpose, 274 blood samples were collected during September to December 2007. For the serological diagnosis of bovine brucellosis, the Rose Bengal Test was applied as a screening method and the 2-mercaptoetanol test as a confirmatory method. In the Rose Bengal Test, of the 274 analyzed bovine, six were seropositive (2.2%; 95% CI = 0.81% - 4.71%). One (0.97%; 95% CI = 0.02% - 5.29%) of the 103 male bovine was seropositive and five (2.92%; 95% CI = 0.96% - 6.69) of the 171 females were seropositive. There was no significant difference between sex and seroprevalence (p = 0.41). In the 2-mercaptoetanol test, of the six reagent samples at the screening test five (83.3%) were confirmed as positive. All positive samples at the confirmatory test were from females, resulting in a seroprevalence of 1.82% (95% CI = 0.59% - 4.21%). There was also no significant difference in the proportion of seropositive animals between males and females in the confirmatory test (p = 0.16).