Mycoplasma agalactiae em rebanhos leiteiros no estado do Ceará em associação com o vírus da artrite encefalite caprina / Mycoplasma agalactiae in dairy goat flocks bred in state of Ceará in association with caprine arthritis encephalitis virus

ABSTRACT

Background: Contagious agalactia is an infectious disease caused by Mycoplasma agalactiae (M. agalactiae) that occurs in small ruminants leading to productive and economic losses. Due to the similarity of clinical signs presented in Caprine Arthritis Encephalitis (CAE), which is a viral disease, a differential diagnosis is important. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the presence of anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State and possible correlation with CAE.Materials, Methods & Results: The research was performed in four mesoregions in Ceará State (Metropolitan Region of FortalezaMRF; Northeast Ceará - NeC; North Ceará - NC; Sertões in Ceará - SC), from which 16 productions located in 10 cities with the highest representativeness for goat milk production within the State or mesoregion were sampled. A total of 417 females and 69 males (486 animals) of breeds with dairy production aptitude, pure or crossbreed, maintained in semi-intensive or intensive systems, were tested. Blood serum was obtained by venipuncture of the jugular vein with vacuum pressure syringe followed by centrifugation at 1,500 g for 10min. Antibodies against the caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV) were detected with micro technique of agarose gel immunodiffusion (AGID) and Western Blot (WB). The anti-Mycoplasma agalactiae antibodies were detected with commercial kit of enzymatic immunoassay (IDEXX Laboratories™). Seroprevalence of M. agalactiae in dairy goat flocks in Ceará State was 0.62% (3/486). From the total of 16 visited productions, 18.75% (3/16) had seropositive animals for M. agalactiae located in MRF, NC and SC mesoregions. CAE was diagnosed in 56.25% (9/16) of productions with AGID and in 81.25% (13/16) with WB. In addition, 5.2% (25/486) of animals were seropositive for CAE with AGID and 16.6% (80/486) with WB.[...]