A study to characterize the epidemiological status of brucellosis in the State of Goiás was carried out. The State was divided in three regions. Three hundred herds were randomly sampled in each region and a pre-established number of animals was sampled in each of these herds. A total of 10,744 serum samples from 900 herds were collected. In each herd, it was applied an epidemiological questionnaire focused on herd traits as well as husbandry and sanitary practices that could be associated with the risk of infection. The serum samples were screened for antibodies against Brucella spp. by the Rose-Bengal Test (RBT), and all positive sera were re-tested by the 2-Mercaptoethanol test (2-ME). The herd was considered positive if at least one animal was positive on both RBT and 2-ME tests. For region 1, the herd prevalence was 7.7% [4.7-10.7%] and the animal prevalence was 1.4% [0.99-1.7%]. For region 2, the herd prevalence was 19.5% [15.0-24.0%] and the animal prevalence was 2.6% [2.0-3.1%]. For region 3, the herd prevalence was 21.4% [16.8-26.1%] and the animal prevalence was 4.3% [3.7-5.0%]. For the whole state, the herd prevalence was 17.5% [14.9-20.2%] and the animal prevalence was 3.0% [2.7-3.3%]. The multivariate analysis identified the following risk factors (odds ratio, OR) associated with positive herds: purchase of breeding stock from cattle traders (OR = 2.06 [1.12-3.52]), occurrence of abortions over the last 12 months (OR = 5.83 [3.86-8.8]), and vaccination against brucellosis (OR = 2.07 [1.38-3.09]). Both the abortions and the vaccination are, in this case, a consequence of the herd being infected with brucellosis.
cattle; brucellosis; prevalence; risk factors; Goiás; Brazil
