Levantamento sorológico de Brucella canis utilizando o ELISA indireto em amostras de cães do município de Cruz das Almas - Bahia, Brasil

Abstract

Canine brucellosis, caused by the etiologic agent Brucellacanis, is an infectious- contagious disease, of a zoonotic nature with a cosmopolitan distribution. They are Gram negative bacteria, of rough, intracellular colonial morphology. It has as main host the canids. In animals the clinical signs are abortions in females, orchitis, prostatites, epididimites in males, and infertility in both cases. In humans the disease is known as "Maltese Fever", although the infection is under-reported, cases where the patient manifested fever, chills, profuse sweating, muscle fatigue, malaise, lymphadenomegaly and weight loss have been observed and described. Along with this symptomatology there may be complications, including endorcarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis, visceral abscesses, hepatitis, arthritis and meningitis. The routes of contamination are the oronasal and genital mucosa, lesions of skin and placenta. Human infection can occur through direct or indirect contact with tissues from contaminated animals, aerosols and fomites. The diagnosis is complex because the clinical signs are not pathognomonic of the disease. It is necessary the assistance of tests that identify the agent through the isolation and serology. Treatment also poses risks, as the infection may return in animals that appeared to have been successful in treatment. In many cases, the animal is sacrificed, with the purpose of containing the disease progression, being at the discretion of the veterinarian the choice of protocol to be followed. With the objective of knowing the prevalence of Brucellacanis in dogs from Cruz das Almas, Ba, a serological survey was performed using the indirect ELISA as a confirmatory test of the exposure to the agent. 250 samples were analyzed. Of these, 66 were considered positive, demonstrating a prevalence of 26.4%.