Soroprevalência da leptospirose em fêmeas bovinas de uma fazenda de gado de corte no município de Uberlândia, MG

Abstract

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease that causes significant social, economic, and health impacts. In beef cattle, large losses occur, with the animals presenting reproductive clinical signs such as repeated estrus, abortion, stillbirths, weak neonates, and retained placenta. The diagnosis of the infection is important for carrying out a disease control program on the property, using the vaccines that are most compatible with the seroprevalence of the herd in the region. The objective of this study was to verify the seroprevalence of leptospirosis in female beef cattle of reproductive age at the Experimental Capim Branco farm, located in the municipality of Uberlândia, Minas Gerais. Blood serum samples from 38 females that were not vaccinated against leptospirosis were tested, using the microscopic agglutination test in the dark field to detect antibodies against Leptospira spp. This study was divided into two collections, and in the first collection, the number of reactive animals was only nine (23.68%), which were positive for the following serovars: Wolffi (36.06%), Grippotyphosa (27, 27%) and Pomona (18.19%). In the second collection, the number of seroreactive animals increased to 33 (64.86), with the serovars identified: Grippotyphosa (20.62%), Tarassovi (19.69%), Canicola (18.77%), Pomona (15 .84) and Wolffi (13.20%). The results demonstrate that the seroprevalence of leptospirosis is high, and seroreactive animals have the disease. This serves as a warning to intensify measures to control the disease, prevent the spread of the bacteria and consequently, minimize losses resulting from the reproductive problems caused by this pathogen.