Estimated prevalence of brucellosis in buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) from the Ribeira Valley region, State of Sao Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

With the purpose of estimating the brucellosis prevalence among female buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) from the Ribeira Valley region, State of São Paulo, Brazil, 462 animals from 16 herds located in seven municipalities were examined by the complement fixation test. It was observed that 10.39% of the animals were reactors, and the population rate was situated between 7.61 and 13.17%, with 95% confidence limits. The occurrence of reactors was observed in 11 of the 16 herds and in five of the seven municipalities. There was no significant difference in prevalence rates when the type of production or the farming system were used as criteria of the analysis. The prevalence rate among buffaloes that did not cohabit with cattle (13.74%) was significantly higher (P < 0.01) than the rate among buffaloes that cohabited with cattle (0.83%). It was also observed that the prevalence rate among animals aged six years or more (18.63%) was higher (P < 0.01) than the rate observed among animals up to three years old (8.06%) and among animals aged three to six years. The results suggest that brucellosis may be a serious sanitary problem for the herd studied.