Epidemiological situation of bovine tuberculosis in the state of Tocantins, Brazil

Abstract

The epidemiological situation of bovine tuberculosis was studied from October 2014 to August 2015 in the state of Tocantins, a traditional beef exporter. The state was divided into five regions and the farms were randomly selected in each region. A predetermined number of animals was randomly selected and diagnosed using the Comparative Cervical Tuberculin Test. A total of 11,926 animals from 757 farms were tested. Animals with inconclusive test results were retested with the same diagnostic procedure at least 60 days later. The prevalence of infected herds in the state was 0.16% [0.02-1.15] and the prevalence of infected animals 0.009% [0.001-0.063]. Only one positive animal was detected in the Araguaína region. The state of Tocantins has a very low prevalence of bovine tuberculosis and, therefore, should evaluate the need of structuring a surveillance system to eradicate the disease.