Tuberculosis in water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the Baixo Araguari Region, Amapá, Brazil

Abstract

Water buffalo are of great economic importance in Brazilian Amazonia, which has the largest herd in Brazil. Bovine tuberculosis caused by Mycobacterium bovis is a zoonotic disease that results in severe losses to water buffalo production. Although the disease has already been described in the country, data on the occurrence and distribution of bovine tuberculosis in water buffalo in Brazil is very scarce. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of bovine tuberculosis in water buffalo in the Baixo Araguari River region of Amapá, Brazil. Thirty herds, randomly selected from the 41 herds of water buffalo in the region, were sampled. From those herds, 212 randomly selected water buffalo were subjected to the comparative tuberculin skin test. The proportion of Baixo Araguari River region herds that were positive for bovine tuberculosis was 50.0% (95% CI 31.3% to 68.7%) and the proportion of animals that were positive was estimated to be 14.8% (95% CI 7.8% to 21.9%). Our results show that bovine tuberculosis is spread widely among water buffalo in the Baixo Araguari River region, which suggests that measures to control the disease should be undertaken in the region. Key words: Brazilian Amazon. Comparative tuberculin skin test. Epidemiology. Mycobacterium bovis. ResumoA criação de búfalos é de grande importância econômica na Região Amazônica, que abriga o maior rebanho do Brasil. A tuberculose causada pelo Mycobacterium bovis é uma zoonose que leva a perdas severas na criação de búfalos. Apesar de já ter sido descrita no país, dados sobre a ocorrência e distribuição da

Bovine tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis and other mycobacteria among water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) from the Brazilian Amazon

“…Buffalo breeding is a branch of livestock production of major economic importance in the Brazilian Amazon region, which has the largest herd in Brazil [1,2]. The water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) presents characteristics of rusticity, adaptability to climatic and topographic factors and poor soils, factors that make these animals an excellent alternative for animal protein production in the Amazon region [1,2]. In 2017, the Amapá state, located in the eastern Brazilian Amazon, had an estimated number of 223,893 water buffalo heads created predominantly in extensive farming systems [3].…”

Comparison of the cutaneous response of the comparative cervical tuberculin (CCT) test with different reading times in buffaloes

“…Some studies have been carried out in the diagnosis of tuberculosis in buffaloes in several regions of the country (BARBOSA et al, 2014;MINHARRO, 2016;PEREIRA et al, 2009). However, all following the recommendations of the diagnosis for cattle.…”