Ocurrence and risk factors associated with Mycoplasma agalactiae infection in dairy goat herds of Paraíba State, Brazil

Mycoplasmosis is a disease that may cause severe economical losses in goat and sheep herds, and it is associated with mastitis, polyarthritis, agalactia, conjunctivitis, pneumonia and reproductive failure. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of Mycoplasma agalactiae in milk samples and investigate the main risk factors associated with infection in goats from farms of the state of Paraiba, Brazil. For Mycoplasma agalactiae diagnosis, 251 milk samples were submitted to DNA extraction using a commercially available kit, following the manufacturer's instructions and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) was performed. In addition, questionnaires were applied to identify the main risk factors associated with contagious agalactia. Out of the two hundred fifty-one samples analyzed, 50 (19.9%, I.C. 15.1-25.4%) were PCR positive for M. agalactiae. In the risk factors analysis, some associations were observed for the following variables: size of the herd (P<0.001, OR=7.1, I.C. 2.4-20.6), replacement of farm animals (P<0.001, OR=4.7, l.C. 1.8-12.2) and participation of animals in fairs and exhibitions (P=0.029, OR=2.0, I.C.1.0-3.9). The results allowed confirming the occurrence of Mycoplasma agalactiae in milk samples of goats from Paraiba. Therefore, it is strictly necessary to monitor dairy goat flocks and to raise the awareness of farmers about the economic importance of the disease, since it causes severe economic losses for producers of the state. Identification of risk factors is essential for adoption of control measures and for the correction of the management factors in farms where there are animals with positive diagnosis, avoiding, so, pathogen dissemination.