Brucelose por Brucella canis em cães atendidos no Hospital Veterinário do CSTR/UFCG: inquérito sorológico, fatores de risco e confirmação da infecção por PCR.

Abstract

The aim of this work was to determine the prevalence of anti-Brucella canis antibodies in dogs from Patos municipality, Paraíba State, as well as to identify risk factors associated with seropositivity, and to confirm the infection by microbiological culture and Polimerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Sera from 193 dogs were tested by the agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID), using lipopolysaccharides and proteins antigens from Brucella ovis, strain Reo 198, for the serological diagnosis of the infection. For the isolation of Brucella canis blood and bone marrow cultures from seropositive animals were carried out. Six animals tested seropositive in AGID, resulting in a seroprevalence of 3.11% (95% CI = 1.15% – 6.64%). Brucella canis was isolated from bone marrow from one seropositive animal, with confirmation by PCR. Do not clean the environment in which the animals stay was identified as risk factor (odds ratio = 7.91). The present work was the first on reporting the Brucella canis isolation from dogs in the Northeast region of Brazil.