PrEValÊnCia Da inFECÇÃo PElo VÍrUS Da DiarrÉia Viral BoVina (BVDV) no EStaDo DE goiÁS, BraSil

This study was performed to estimate the seroprevalence of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in a population of non-vaccinated cattle in Goias State, Brazil, and to determine the potential risk factors related to the seropositivity. Serum samples were collected from 3,533 animals of 888 herds from 232 municipalities in Goias between March and September, 2002. These samples were submitted to the serum neutralization test and an epidemiological questionnaire was filled out for each herd to investigate variables that could be associated with this infection. The data were analyzed using Epi Info 6.04. In addition, 960 BVDV antibody-negative sera were further tested by antigen-ELISA in order to identify persistently infected animals (PI). The seroprevalence was 64.0% and 784 (88.3%) herds had at least one seropositive animal. Two hundred and twenty six (97.4%) municipalities showed at least one positive herd/animal. Only age influenced the presence of neutralizing antibodies to this virus in animals. None of the exposure variables analyzed was considered as a risk factor for the infection with BVDV in cattle herds. Four (0.4%) of 960 seronegative samples were BVDV antigen positive. Based on these results, we concluded that BVDV infection is spread among cattle herds in Goias State, Brazil.