OCCURRENCE OF BOVINE BRUCELLOSIS IN TOCANTINS COMPARED WITH THE OTHER STATES OF THE NORTHERN REGION OF BRAZIL: DATA ANALYSIS OF OFFICIAL PROGRAMS

Abstract

Bovine brucellosis is an endemic zoonosis of high relevance, imposing severe sanitary restrictions and a significant economic impact on Brazilian cattle farming. This quantitative and descriptive study analyzed the incidence and prevalence of the disease in Tocantins in comparison with the other states of the North region, using official data from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply (MAPA) related to the period from 2014 to 2024. The study applied Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and the Student’s t-test for statistical comparison. Tocantins recorded the lowest average incidence of brucellosis in the North region, with 0.27 cases per 100,000 bovines and an average prevalence of 76.33 cases per 100,000 animals tested. Although the number of notified cases in the state is relatively low, there is an observed need to intensify testing in order to support a more robust and representative epidemiological diagnosis of the actual field situation. For this purpose, it is essential to expand the implementation of random testing on rural properties, which allows a more accurate estimation of the prevalence and incidence of the disease in cattle herds across the North region. It is concluded that, due to the relevance of brucellosis to bovine production and reproductive efficiency, the interpretation of official data requires caution, as these records may not fully reflect the epidemiological situation observed in the field.