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O objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar a ocorrência da infecção pelo vírus Maedi-Visna em ovinos criados nas microrregiões de Botucatu, Campinas, Piedade e São Paulo do Estado de São Paulo. As amostras de soro sanguíneo foram colhidas de 226 ovinos e foi realizada a técnica de imunodifusão em gel de ágar para a detecção de anticorpos antivírus Maedi-Visna e verificou-se que nenhuma das amostras testadas foi sororeagente. Dessa forma, faz-se necessário um estudo mais amplo no estado, a fim de se confirmar a baixa ocorrência e importância da enfermidade no estado. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the occurrence of infection with maedi-visna virus in sheep raised in the regions of Botucatu, Campinas, Piedade and São Paulo, state of São Paulo, Brazil, that showed symptoms of the disease. Blood serum samples collected from 226 sheep were submitted to the agar gel immunodiffusion technique for detection of antibodies against maedi-visna virus, and none of the samples tested was serum reactive. In conclusion, the maedi-visna virus has low frequency in animals raised in the regions studied.

The Visna/Maedi virus is a Lentivirus that causes amultisystem, progressive, slow-developing disease that can affect sheepand goats. After long periods of subclinical infection, the disease canslowly progress to cause the degeneration of various organs, cachexiaand death. The diagnosis is made by the observation of clinical signs andconfirmed by serological tests and isolation and/or identification of thevirus. There is no treatment for the disease. The control is based onsegregated breeding, handling and slaughtering of the positives. As Visna/Maedi is on the list of the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE),reporting of the disease is obligatory and it has been found in some Statesin Brazil, causing negative economic impacts with its spread. Given thelimited seroepidemiological data available in the Brazilian State of Bahia,this study aimed to carry out a seroepidemiological survey to investigatethe occurrence of anti-Visna/Maedi virus antibodies in sheep fromRecôncavo Baiano. Two hundred serum samples from sheep were subjectedto the agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID). None of the serum sampleswere found to be positive. To confirm the absence of Visna/Maedi in sheepherds in Bahia, there is a need for further studies with significant samplingincluding a more sensitive assay.