INVESTIGAÇÃO SOROEPIDEMIOLÓGICA DO VÍRUS DA LÍNGUA AZUL (BTV) EM REBANHOS CAPRINOS DO ESTADO DA PARAÍBA

Abstract

The Brazilian goat herd in 2015 was 9.614.722 million heads, having the state of Paraiba the 5th (fifth) largest herd in the country on the same year. In this scenario, the Brazilian goat breeding sector plays an important role in the socioeconomic field and in the national livestock sector. Among several etiological agents that affects goats, the viruses deserve to be highlighted, by example the Bluetongue Virus (BTV). Due to the scarcity of data demonstrating this microorganism seroprevalence in goat herds in Paraiba territory, this study proposes to carry out an epidemiological analysis in order to establish a BTV seroprevalence in Paraiba microregions characterized by the breeding of these animals. For this, 385 blood serum samples were collected from 8 different properties, distributed in the Cariri, Curimatau and harsh microregions. The research was designed to detect antibodies against structuring proteins, by means of the Double Agar Gel Immunodiffusion (DID) test. From the properties, 37.5% (3 of 8 properties) presented positive samples by DID test for BTV, with 2.03% (7 from 344 total serum samples) of positive samples for anti-BTV antibodies. Considered significant risk factors were used for univariate and multivariate analyzes using the Epilnfo ™ 7 program (version 7.1.5). By these analyses, it was identified that the greater relevance factor in the results obtained was the animals breeding purpose. The results may be minimal in order to know the real risk of BTV presence in the goat herds in the state of Paraiba, as well as its real impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out new more detailed and in-depth seroepidemiological studies about the present topic, as well as predisposing factors and the use of more advanced diagnostic techniques, as the reverse transcriptase reaction, followed by polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and subsequent genetic sequencing.