Tuberculosis is an infectious disease of world wide distribution caused by pathogenic mycobacteria that affect humans and several mammals species. In order to determine the prevalence of tuberculosis in goats and to identify risk factors associated with infection, 1,866 goats of different breeds and ages from 84 herds in the microregion of Monteiro, State of Paraíba, Northeast Brazil, were tuberculinized by the Comparative Cervical Test (CCT). Interpretation of the CCT was checked by calculation of the difference obtained between skin measures correspondent to respective tuberculins, before and 72 hours after inoculation: negative, when bovine PPD is smaller than avian PPD or larger in up to 1.8mm; suspicious or inconclusive, reaction to bovine PPD larger than avian PPD between 1.9 and 2.4mm; positive, reaction to bovine PPD larger than or equal to avian PPD in 2.5mm. From goats submitted to CCT, 0.47% (9/1866) reacted positively (95% CI = 0.23%-0.94%). The prevalence of positive herds to caprine tuberculosis was 10.71% (95% CI = 5.02-19.37%). When submitted to necropsy and histopathologic examination, a positive goat at tuberculin test presented tuberculosis-like lesions. The presence of Acid-Alcohol Resistant Bacilli (BAAR) was also detected by direct bacterioscopy; in relation to herd size, herds with larger number of animals ( >25) with high incidence of the disease, and presence of the infection was evidenced in properties that raised cattle in association with goats and did not carry out tuberculin tests in cattle.
Caprine tuberculosis; prevalence; berculin test