Abstract
In recent years, Brucella suis has been sporadically reported in Italy in domestic and wild swine. Since standard serological tests can determine false positive results, the development of alternative tests with improved sensitivity and specificity is rather essential. We analyzed 1212 sera collected at slaughterhouse from healthy pigs belonging to 62 farms of North-Central Italy. Sera were tested by Rose Bengal Test, Complement Fixation Test, and subsequently by a Dot Blot (DB) and Western Blot assays (WB). Only one serum resulted positive to all tests, indicating that swine brucellosis has a very limited spread. DB and WB could represent a support to the available serological tests; however, further studies to validate these tests are needed. In the presence of reemerging diseases, a prompt and continuous monitoring design is necessary to acquire epidemiological information for the subsequent application of specific health emergency plans.
Highlights
Swine brucellosis is primarily caused by Brucella suis (B. suis) [1]
Brucellosis caused by Brucella suis biovar 2 (B. suis bv. 2) is emerging in Europe, and this biovar is not pathogenic for humans, it could be a cause of reproductive failure in pigs, which results in important economic losses for the swine industry [2,4,5,6,7]
Among 1212 serum samples, only one serum resulted positive to Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and Complement Fixation Test (CFT) and was confirmed by Dot Blot assay
Summary
Swine brucellosis is primarily caused by Brucella suis (B. suis) [1]. B. suis can be divided into five biovars of which 1, 2, and 3 are the most relevant for pigs and are globally distributed [2,3]. Brucellosis caused by Brucella suis biovar 2 2) is emerging in Europe, and this biovar is not pathogenic for humans, it could be a cause of reproductive failure in pigs, which results in important economic losses for the swine industry [2,4,5,6,7]. Wild boars and hares represent reservoir hosts for B. suis bv. Wild boars and hares imported for hunting purposes could represent sources of introduction of the pathogen in infection-free areas [8,9]. B. suis bv. 2 was reported for the first time in wild boars [9,10] and later it was reported in swine in different Italian regions [11,12]
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