Determination of antibodies against Bovine Leukaemia Virus, Brucella sp. and Bovine Viral Diarrhea Virus using the bulk milk Elisa in buffaloes farms in the region south lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

The bovine leukaemia virus (BLV), Brucella sp., and bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV), among other infectious agents can be found in apparently healthy animals. The use of four commercial ELISA kits in bulk milk samples as a monitoring tool for brucellosis, leucosis and bovine viral diarrhea, in the region South of Lake Maracaibo was raised. Materials and methods: A total of 22 buffaloes farms in the region South of Lake Maracaibo were screened for the presence of antibodies in bulk milk samples against Brucella sp, VLB and BVDV using commercial ELISA kits. Results: A determination of antibodies in milk for Brucella sp., 77.27% (n = 17) of herds were negative and 22.73% (n = 5) were positive to I-Elisa. For VLB, a 72.73% (n = 16) of the herds had no antibodies against VLB, and 27.27% (n = 6) were positive. The presence of antibodies to Brucella sp., is dependent on the presence of antibodies against VLB on farms (p