Influence of storage on the chemical composition of Stylosanthes hays for equine feeding

Abstract

The aim of this survey was to determine the frequency of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies in goats and sheep slaughtered in different slaughterhouses in the State of Paraiba, in the semi-arid region of Northeastern Brazil. Blood samples were collected from 500 goats and 500 sheep randomly selected. To verify the presence of anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies the microscopic agglutination test (MAT), using 24 serovars as antigens, was used. From the 1,000 animals analyzed, 82 (8.2%; 95% CI = 7.0%-10.5%) were sero-reactive being 26/500 (5.2%; 95% CI = 3.5%-7.5%) in goats and 56/500 (11.2%; 95% CI = 8.7%-14.2%) in sheep. The most frequent serovars were Hardjobovis (14.6%) and Autumnalis (13.4%). In goats, the most frequent serovar was the Hardjobovis, and in sheep the Ballum, with frequencies of 19.2% and 17.9%, respectively. There was a significant difference in the frequency of positive animals among slaughterhouses, both for goats (p = 0.035) and for sheep (p = 0.004), with the county of Alhandra presenting the highest frequency of seropositive animals for both species. It is concluded that sheep and goats from the semiarid region of the Northeastern Brazil may have become adapted to the serovars Hardjobovis e Autumnalis, as well as wild rodents may be involved in the transmission of the disease. It is possible that the climatic conditions influenced in the transmissibility of the leptospirosis, especially in the Mata Paraibana mesoregion, however it was not considered as being sufficient to justify the low frequency of seropositive animals. In this way, it is possible to suggest the hypothesis that the rusticity of the small ruminants in the studied region contributed to the low sero-reactivity verified. Key words: Adaptability. Goats. Leptospirosis. Sheep. Rusticity. ResumoO objetivo deste estudo foi determinar a frequência de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp. em caprinos e ovinos abatidos em diferentes matadouros no Estado da Paraíba, região semiárida do Nordeste brasileiro. Foi coletado sangue de 500 caprinos e 500 ovinos aleatoriamente selecionados. Para verificar a presença de anticorpos anti-Leptospira spp. empregou-se o teste soroaglutinação microscópica (SAM), utilizando-se 24 sorovares como antígenos. Dos 1.000 animais analisados 82 (8,2%; IC 95%= 7,0%-10,5%) foram sororreagentes, sendo 26/500 (5,2%; IC 95% =3,5%-7,5%) em caprinos e 56/500 (11,2%; IC 95% 8,7%-14,2%) em ovinos. Os sorovares mais frequentes foram Hardjobovis (14,6%) e Autumnalis (13,4%). Na espécie caprina, o sorovar mais frequente foi o Hardjobovis, e na espécie ovina o Ballum, com frequências de 19,2% e 17,9%, respectivamente. Houve diferença significativa na frequência de positivos entre os matadouros, tanto para caprinos (p = 0,035) quanto para ovinos (p = 0,004), com o município de Alhandra apresentando a maior frequência de soropositivos para ambas as espécies. Concluiu-se que ovinos e caprinos da região semiárida do Nordeste podem estar adaptados aos sorovares Hardjobovis e Autumnalis, bem como roedores silvestres estarem envolv...

Leptospirosis in native mixed-breed sheep slaughtered in a semiarid region of Brazil

“…The present study reported a lower prevalence of seroreactive animals than that observed in other Brazilian regions, such as 34.3% in the South (HERRMANN et al, 2004), 47.4% in the Southeast (MARTINS et al, 2012), and 33.3% in the North (AGUIAR et al, 2010). However, this prevalence was comparable to those reported in studies conducted in the semiarid region of northeast Brazil, which varied from 3.5% in Rio Grande do Norte (AZEVEDO et al, 2004) to 5.4% and 8.2% in Paraiba (ALVES et al, 2012;COSTA et al, 2016). This was not unexpected since the rainfall index in the Northeast region is much lower than that observed in the other cited regions and the studied region possesses semiarid climate conditions (GIRARDI & ROSA, 2011).…”

Frequency of and risk factors associated to Leptospira spp. Seropositivity in goats in the state of Sergipe, Northeastern Brazil

“…The titers obtained were low, and this result agrees with those of other Brazilian studies (SCHMIDT et al, 2002;LILENBAUM et al, 2007b;ARAÚJO NETO et al, 2010;HIGINO & AZEVEDO, 2014;COSTA et al, 2016). This result also indicated chronic infection, which may go unnoticed, as well as low exposure to the agent, suggesting that serological studies are an essential part of control measures in goat herds.…”

“…However, none of these studies collected samples from all the mesoregions present in their respective states, and in three cases, the number of samples assayed with MAT was much lower than that in the current study. Other surveys in the Northeastern region of Brazil reported lower rates of infection, ranging from 1.5% to 15.67% in the states of Rio Grande do Norte (ARAÚJO NETO et al, 2010), Paraiba, and Ceará (FAVERO et al, 2002;HIGINO et al, 2013;COSTA et al, 2016. ).…”

“…Sample size was calculated using the method described by Thrusfield (2007) according to the following parameters: a population of 23,647,000 goats (IBGE, 2014), a confidence interval of 95%, an error of 5%, and a prevalence of 11.83%, which represents the mean of serological surveys in goats in the Northeastern region of Brazil (CUNHA et al, 1999;FAVERO et al, 2002;ARAÚJO NETO et al, 2010;HIGINO et al, 2013;COSTA et al, 2016). This process resulted in a minimum sample of 369 goats (123 goats per mesoregion).…”

“…Rizzo et al agglutination test (MAT) ranged from 1.5% to 33.3%. The most common serogroups in the Brazilian states were Icterohaemorrhagiae, which were positive in a sample from Ceará (FAVERO et al, 2002); Australis, Djasiman, Celledoni, Semaranga, and Sejroe, which were reported in the state of Paraíba (FAVERO et al, 2002;HIGINO et al, 2013;COSTA et al, 2016); Autumnalis, which were detected in Rio Grande do Norte; (ARAÚJO NETO et al, 2010); and Canicola and Autumnalis, which were reported in Pernambuco (CUNHA et al, 1999). Surveys were conducted in other Brazilian states, including Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo, and Minas Gerais, and the infection rates were 2.4%-35.47% (FAVERO et al, 2002;SCHMIDT et al, 2002;LILENBAUM et al, 2007b;LILENBAUM et al, 2008;DOS SANTOS, et al, 2012;CORTIZO et al, 2015;TOPAZIO et al, 2015).…”