Leucose enzoótica bovina: revisão de literatura

Abstract

Enzootic Bovine Leukosis (EBL) is an infectious, cosmopolitan, immunosuppressive, chronic disease that causes great damage to livestock. Most infections are subclinical, but some cattle develop persistent lymphocytosis and/or malignant lymphoma. The etiologic agent is a deltaretrovirus called Bovine Leukemia Virus (BLV), it primarily affects the lymphoid system. Infected animals can be positive, but without persistent lymphocytosis, positive with the presence of persistent lymphocytosis, and there is still the possibility of the disease progressing to a tumor stage. The transmission of the disease occurs mainly horizontally, with iatrogenic contamination by shared use of procedure materials being an important route of infection. The diagnosis of LEB can be made based on clinical suspicion, based on epidemiological data, and confirmed by laboratory tests. LEB has no treatment and its prognosis is unfavorable, requiring control and prevention measures.