FREQUENCY OF ANTIBODIES TO Babesia bigemina, B. bovis, Anaplasma marginale, Trypanosoma vivax AND Borrelia burdgorferi IN CATTLE FROM THE NORTHEASTERN REGION OF THE STATE OF PARA, BRAZIL

Babesiosis, anaplasmosis, and trypanosomosis are relevant diseases, potentially causing morbidity in cattle, leading to economic losses. Borreliosis is import as a potential zoonosis. The objective of this study was to determine, by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), the frequency of seropositive cattle to Babesia bigemina, B. bovis, Anaplasma marginale, Trypanosoma vivax and Borrelia burgdorferi in cattle from the Northeastern region of Para, Brazil. Sera samples from 246 female adult cattle from municipalities of Castanhal and Sao Miguel do Guama were used. Crude antigens ELISAs were used to detect antibodies to all agents, except to A. marginale, to which an indirect ELISA with recombinant major surface la protein (MSPI a) antigen was used. Overall frequencies of seropositive animals were: B. bigemina - 99.2%; B. bovis - 98.8%-;A. marginale - 68.3%; T vivax - 93.1% and B. burgdorferi - 54.9%. The frequencies of seropositive cattle to. bovis and B. bigemina suggest a high rate of transmission of these organisms by tick in the studied region, which can be classified as enzootically stable to these hemoprotozoans. The low frequency of seropositive cattle to A. marginale may be attributed to a lower sensitivity of the recombinant antigen ELISA utilized or a distinct rate of inoculation of this rickettsia by ticks, as compared with Babesia sp. transmission. The high frequency of seropositive cattle to T vivax indicates that this hemoprotozoan is prevalent in herds from the Northeastern region of Para. The rate of animal that showed homologues antibodies to B. burgdorferi indicates the presence of the tickborne spirochaetal agent in the cattle population in the studied region.