title: Seroprevalence and risk factors for Leptospirosis in goats in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
abstract: The prevalence of Leptospirosis in goat herds of the State of Minas Gerais has seldom been studied. The present research had as its objectives: (1) investigate the seroprevalence of Leptospirosis in the county of Uberlândia, MG, (2) verify the Leptospirosis serovars, and (3) identify the risk factors associated with infection on the farms examined. Serum samples from 230 animals in 11 properties were tested using the microscopic agglutination test. An epidemiological examination furnished data for analysis regarding the risk factors. The prevalence of Leptospirosis was found to be 31.3% with variation from 1:100 to 1:800. The most frequent serovars were: Autumnalis (30.30%), Tarassovi (19.20%), Pyrogenes (13.13%), and Icterohaemorrhagiae (11.11%). The ages and races of the animals were among the risk factors found to be significantly correlated (P<0.05) with infection. At the farm level, the intensity of production, use of salaried workers, and association of other animals were all found to be related with the frequency of Leptospirosis. The results demonstrated that inadequate management was a factor which favored the occurrence of infection in the region of the study.
authors.affiliation: Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Av. Ceará s/n, Bloco 2T, Bairro Umuarama, 38400902, Uberlândia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. jandrapacheco@terra.com.br
authors.forename: Jandra Pacheco
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Anna Monteiro Correia
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lima-Ribeiro
authors.forename: Paulo Roberto
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: Mariane Pacheco
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: dos Santos
authors.forename: Alvaro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferreira
authors.forename: Alessandra Aparecida
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Tatiane Cristina Fernandes
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Tavares
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D015511:Goat Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006041:Goats; D006386:Hemagglutination Tests / Q000662:veterinary; D007919:Leptospira / Q000145:classification* / Q000276:immunology* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D007922:Leptospirosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial