Brucella canis INFECTION IN DOGS ATTENDED IN VETERINARY CLINICS FROM PATOS, PARAÍBA STATE,

To determine the frequency of anti-Brucella canis antibodies in dogs attended in veterinary clinics from Patos, Paraíba State, Brazil, as well as to identify risk factors and to isolate and identify the agent, 193 dogs were used. Agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID) was used to detect B. canis antibodies in sera. Isolation of B. canis was carried out in blood and bone marrow from seropositive animals. Six animals tested seropositive in AGID, resulting in a frequency of 3.11%. B. canis was isolated from bone marrow of one seropositive animal, with confirmation by PCR. Lack of cleaning of the dog’s environment was identified as risk factor (odds ratio = 7.91). This is the first report of isolation of B. canis in dogs from the Northeast region of Brazil. Key words: Bacterial diseases, canine brucellosis, prevalence, risk factors, microbiological culture Canine Brucellosis is an infectious disease of zoonotic potential whose etiologic agent is B. canis, a bacterium responsible for impairment of reproductive tract, primarily abortion and sterility in females and orchitis and epididymitis in males (1). Zoonotic potential of the disease should be takin