Ocorrência de Brucella abortus em trabalhadores de frigoríficos no município de São Luís – MA

Abstract

Brucellosis is an infectious disease of chronic nature, caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella, which affects humans and different animal species. The disease can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact with infected animals and fetal membranes and also conveyed to humans by eating contaminated animal products or by. It can be conveyed well by handling carcasses and offal during slaughter. The risk of transmission of infectious agents in refrigerators, as well as important for the individual occupational health, has great relevance to public health because the workers of these sites are the first hosts to be exposed to the etiologic agents of zoonoses. In this context, the objective of the study was to determine the occurrence of Brucella abortus in meatpacking workers in São Luis - MA. For this, we selected 75 employees linked directly to cattle slaughtering activity. The collection of blood samples was performed by puncturing the cephalic vein, conducted by a health professional. After collection, each worker answered an epidemiological questionnaire to study possible risk factors associated with brucellosis in these professionals. Serological diagnosis to detect anti-Brucella abortus antibodies was performed by antigen buffered plate (AAT), as a screening test, reagents and samples that were subjected simultaneously to the 2- Mercaptoethanol and slow agglutination test tubes. Only one worker (1.34%) was positive for B. abortus in the study. Among the risk factors evaluated, no statistically significant (P <0.05) associated with brucellosis. Thus, it can be concluded that the occurrence of B. abortus in municipal slaughterhouses workers in São Luís - MA was low. However, as brucellosis is endemic in cattle herds in the state of Maranhao and on labor dynamics run these places is great possibility of these professionals become infected mainly by non-use of PPE.