Levantamento epidemiológico de tuberculose bovina em carcaças e vísceras de 2020-2025 no Cariri Cearense

Abstract

Bovine tuberculosis is a zoonosis of significant sanitary and economic relevance, associated with the condemnation of carcasses and viscera during post mortem inspection in slaughterhouses. The present study aimed to evaluate the occurrence of lesions suggestive of bovine tuberculosis in carcasses and viscera inspected at an industrial slaughterhouse located in the municipality of Juazeiro do Norte, Ceará State, Brazil, from 2020 to 2025, analyzing the macroscopic aspects of the lesions, the distribution of cases, and their impacts on public health and the economy. This is an epidemiological, retrospective, and descriptive study with a quantitative approach, based on the analysis of secondary data obtained from official inspection service records. During the evaluated period, 79,318 cattle were inspected, and 36 total carcass condemnations associated mainly with bovine tuberculosis were recorded, corresponding to a relative frequency of 0.045% (36/79,318). The most frequent macroscopic lesions included granulomatous, caseous, and purulent processes, predominantly affecting the lungs, lymph nodes, and multiple viscera, characterizing generalized and miliary forms of tuberculosis. A higher occurrence was observed in adult females, with a concentration of cases in the municipality of Crato in the Cariri region of Ceará. The results demonstrate the persistence of the disease in cattle herds and reinforce the importance of rigorous sanitary inspection and epidemiological surveillance to protect public health.