Zoonozes em propriedades rurais: prevenção e controle de brucelose, tuberculose e raiva bovina

Abstract

Each year Brazil advances in cattle production, facing challenges that lead to economic losses, including diseases. This work aims to address the general aspects of brucellosis, tuberculosis, and rabies, contributing to the creation of a technical manual for field technicians and informational brochures for producers and rural workers, focusing on the prevention and control of these zoonoses. These diseases pose a risk to public health due to their zoonotic nature, productive losses, and they are diseases of mandatory notification. The economic importance attributed to these zoonoses is related to the possibility of human infection, productive losses in the herd, animal deaths, decreased milk production, early culling, elimination of high-value breeding animals, and carcass condemnation at slaughter. It is estimated that there is a loss of 10% to 25% in the productive efficiency of infected animals. Being considered occupational diseases, they affect farmers, handlers, veterinarians, vaccinators, laboratory technicians, slaughterhouse workers, due to the routine direct contact with infected animals and/or their secretions. Given these characteristics, the government has established programs aimed at preventing and eradicating these diseases, such as the National Program for the Control and Eradication of Brucellosis and Tuberculosis (PNCEBT) and the National Program for the Control of Herbivore Rabies (PNCRH). The PNCEBT recommends the vaccination of bovine and buffalo females between 3 and 8 months of age against brucellosis, periodic tuberculin testing in animals starting at 6 weeks of age, elimination of carriers, negative test results for animal transit regardless of purpose, and certification of brucellosis- or tuberculosis-free properties. The PNCRH recommends strategic vaccination of herbivores, acting strategically in surveillance in high-risk areas, laboratory diagnostics, epidemiological and laboratory investigations of suspected cases in herbivores and bats, monitoring of shelters and bat activities, and health education. Possible gaps in knowledge about these three zoonoses put the health of productive herds and citizens at risk.