Brucellosis is a worldwide distributed zoonosis that causes important economic losses to animal production. In Brazil, information on the distribution of biovars and genotypes of Brucella spp. is scarce or unavailable. This study aimed (i) to biotype and genotype 137 Brazilian cattle isolates (from 1977 to 2008) of B. abortus and (ii) to analyze their distribution. B. abortus biovars 1, 2 and 3 (subgroup 3b) were confirmed and biovars 4 and 6 were first described in Brazil. Genotyping by the panel 1 revealed two groups, one clustering around genotype 40 and another around genotype 28. Panels 2A and 2B disclosed a high diversity among Brazilian B. abortus strains. Eighty-nine genotypes were found by MLVA16. MLVA16 panel 1 and 2 showed geographic clustering of some genotypes. Biotyping and MLVA16 genotyping of Brazilian B. abortus isolates were useful to better understand the epidemiology of bovine brucellosis in the region.

This study aimed to determine the susceptibility profile of Brazilian Brucella abortus isolates from cattle to eight antimicrobial agents that are recommended for the treatment of human brucellosis and to correlate the susceptibility patterns with origin, biotype and MLVA16-genotype of the strains. Screening of 147 B. abortus strains showed 100% sensitivity to doxycycline and ofloxacin, one (0.68%) strain resistant to ciprofloxacin, two strains (1.36%) resistant to streptomycin, two strains (1.36%) resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and five strains (3.40%) resistant to gentamicin. For rifampicin, three strains (2.04%) were resistant and 54 strains (36.73%) showed reduced sensitivity. Two strains were considered multidrug resistant. In conclusion, the majority of B. abortus strains isolated from cattle in Brazil were sensitive to the antimicrobials commonly used for the treatment of human brucellosis; however, a considerable proportion of strains showed reduced susceptibility to rifampicin and two strains were considered multidrug resistant. Moreover, there was no correlation among the drug susceptibility pattern, origin, biotype and MLVA16-genotypes of these strains.

The aim of the study was to determine the phylogenetic groups of E. coli strains isolated from seemingly healthy broiler and broiler condemned suspected of colibacillosis in a Brazilian slaughterhouse. Samples from respiratory tract and edible giblets (liver and heart) of broilers with and without macroscopic lesions of colibacillosis were collected at slaughter. There were 84 strains isolated from broilers condemned of which 11 were obtained from swabs of the heart, 7 from the liver, and 66 from the respiratory tract. Of the 53 E. coli strains isolated from broilers not condemned, 5 were isolated from the heart, 4 from the liver, and 44 from the respiratory tract. E coli strains were tested via PCR for phylogenetic groups A, B1, B2, C, D, E, and F. Phylogroups A and B1 were the most common phylogroups of E. coli obtained from healthy and sick-appearing broiler carcasses. The results of the study showed that phylogroups B2 and E were associated with the heart samples and phylogroup A was associated with respiratory tract samples, phylogroup B1 with not condemned carcass, and phylogroup D with liver samples.

The study evaluated the effect of transportation over long distances on cattle muscle tissue of submitted to emergency slaughter in slaughterhouses in northern Tocantins, Brazil. The evaluations consisted in pH, muscle and liver glycogen, muscle histopathology and creatine kinase (CK), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activity. Animals were placed into two groups: Experimental Group (EG), consisting of 19 bovines intended for immediate emergency slaughter, and Control Group (CG), composed of 24 bovines slaughtered in accordance with the normal flow. CK and ALT levels were high in EG. AST did not differ between groups. EG showed higher muscle pH and mean of degenerate fibers, mainly on the intercostal. However, muscle and liver glycogen did not differ between groups. In conclusion, cattle transported over long distances and subjected to immediate emergency slaughter showed markedly stress condition, with changes in biochemical parameters in the muscle tissue, determined by cellular degeneration.