Prevalence of brucellosis (Brucella spp) in bovines from the municipality of San Vicente del Caguan, Caqueta, Colombia

Abstract

Brucellosis is a disease with implications in public health by both, its zoonotic character and its easy transmission trough dairy products contaminated with the microorganism Brucella spp. The aim of this reseach was to determinate the prevalence of bovine brucellosis in the San Vicente del Caguan municipality in the Caqueta Department, Colombia. Blood samples were collected in 20 dual purpose cattle farms, obtaining blood serum from 198 animals, of which 172 corresponded to cows. The Rose Bengal Test was applied and the confirmation of positive cases was made by competitive ELISA, the last test with which the prevalence of the disease was calculated. Seroprevalence of 0% in males and 5.81% in females was obtained. The prevalence of brucellosis at the farm level was 40%. In conclusion, a greater performance of the official control entities at the level of farms is necessary to reduce the high prevalence of the disease and guarantee both the innocuousness of milk and the health of the consumers.