Brucellosis in working equines of cattle farms from Minas Gerais State, Brazil.
The present survey aimed at estimating the seroprevalence of brucellosis in working equines of cattle farms from Minas Gerais State, Brazil, and investigating risk factors associated with the infection. Serum samples from 6439 animals, including 5292 horses, 1037 mules and 110 donkeys, were collected from 1936 herds, between September 2003 and March 2004, in 848 municipalities from the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The prevalence of antibodies against smooth Brucella spp. found in equines from Minas Gerais State was 1.37% (95% CI: 0.97-1.78), resulting in a prevalence of herds with infected animals of 4.28% (95% CI: 4.21-4.36). There were differences between regions but these were not of major epidemiological relevance nor were most of them statistically significant, given the considerable overlap of confidence intervals. Nevertheless, the point estimates suggest that the three northeastern regions have slightly higher prevalence than the rest of the state, both at the herd and animal levels. No association of Brucella spp. seropositivity with sex, age or host was observed. In conclusion, the present study showed a low but widespread prevalence of antibodies against smooth Brucella in equines kept in cattle farms in Minas Gerais, a state where bovine brucellosis is also widespread albeit with low prevalence.
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Danilo Guedes
DG
Junqueira
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Elaine Maria Seles
EM
Dorneles
Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Vitor Salvador Picão
VS
Gonçalves
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Jordana Almeida
JA
Santana
Instituto Mineiro de Agropecuária, Cidade Administrativa Tancredo Neves, Ed. Gerais, 10º Piso, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Valéria Maria de Andrade
VM
Almeida
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Rafael Romero
RR
Nicolino
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Marcos Xavier
MX
Silva
Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Ana Lourdes Arrais de Alencar
AL
Mota
Universidade de Brasília, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Asa Norte, Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Flávio Pereira
FP
Veloso
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil.
Ana Paula Reinato
AP
Stynen
Universidade de São Paulo, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP 05508-270, Brazil.
Marcos Bryan
MB
Heinemann
Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Escola de Veterinária, Av. Antonio Carlos, 6627, Belo Horizonte, MG 30123-970, Brazil. Electronic address: alage@vet.ufmg.br.
Andrey Pereira
AP
Lage
D000822:Animal Husbandry; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002002:Brucella / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000382:microbiology; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies
D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial
Brucellosis; Epidemiology; Equines; Minas Gerais