DISTRIBUIÇÃO ESPAÇO-TEMPORAL DOS DIAGNÓSTICOS LABORATORIAIS DA RAIVA ANIMAL

Abstract

Rabies is an infectious contagious disease that affects mammals, including humans. Herbivore rabies is estimated to be the cause of major economic downturns in Latin America. The hematophagous bat Desmodusrotundus is the main transmitter of the rabies virus. The present study aimed at evaluating the laboratory diagnosis of animal rabies in five species of animals, in the 1990-2010 period, in the microregion of Quirinópolis, Goiás, Brazil. In order to evaluate the distribution of the animal rabies diagnosed cases, we used disease data from the laboratory diagnosis, performed by the Diagnosis Laboratory of the Goiás Agency for Agriculture and Cattle Breeding Defense. A databank was developed with city variables, namely animal origin, result, month and year. Out of the 116 analyzed samples, 9% (10) showed to be positive for the rabies virus and 91% (106) were negative. All the positive results were found in cattle. Among the surveyed cities, Itarumã showed the highest number of positive cases and Caçu submitted most samples. Both sample submission and laboratory exams tended to be higher. Positive diagnosis tended to be higher. Most of the analyzed samples came from cattle, followed by the hematophagous bats. The distribution of positive cases in relation to the time of the year was higher in the period of drought.

Keywords

• bats
• chiropterans
• epidemiology
• livestock