Abstract
Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease of animals and humans caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Brucellae are Gram-negative intracellular bacteria which infect a wide variety of animals including goats, sheep, buffaloes, cows, pigs, and wildlife. The objectives of this study were to determine the seroprevalence and spatial distribution of brucellosis in Central Punjab, Pakistan. A total of 1083 blood samples of goats, sheep, buffaloes, and cows were collected from 38 villages of four districts (Kasur, Faisalabad, Lahore, and Okara) of Punjab, Pakistan, and screened for brucellosis by Rose Bengal Plate test (RBPT) and PCR confirmed. Epidemiological, demographic data and GPS coordinates for every sample were collected. By using interpolation of the Aeronautical Reconnaissance Coverage Geographic Information System (Arc GIS), a surface plot was generated applying inverse distance weight (IDW). It was found that 35 (3.23%) serum samples were positive for brucellosis. In eight (61.5%), six (75%), seven (87.5%), and eight (89%) villages, positive goats, sheep, buffaloes, and cattle were detected, respectively. In general, older animals are more often positive for brucellosis. In goats bucks were more often RBPT positive than females while in sheep, buffaloes, and cattle more females were positive. The spatial distribution of brucellosis shows that it is widely distributed in the western region of the study area in goats and in the South-West region in sheep. Similarly, for buffaloes it is restricted to the south-east and north-west regions, and in cattle brucellosis is present in western region of study area only. Reflected by this study, brucellosis poses a risk for livestock in developing countries due to lack of awareness by officials, owners, and consumers, and control measures are missing. A risk map of brucellosis was generated to develop effective strategies for awareness rising and to improve the quality of control programs in Pakistan.
Highlights
Livestock plays a pivotal role in the economy of Pakistan and it is considered the backbone of rural economy because more than 70% of the population lives in rural areas and incomes depend on animal production [1]
Out of 1083 serum samples, 35 (3.23%) samples were positive for brucellosis in Rose Bengal Plate test (RBPT) and were confirmed by PCR
Thirteen and eight villages were investigated for caprine and ovine brucellosis and eight (61.5%)
Summary
Livestock plays a pivotal role in the economy of Pakistan and it is considered the backbone of rural economy because more than 70% of the population lives in rural areas and incomes depend on animal production [1]. Livestock products contributed 58.92% to the gross domestic product (GDP) of Pakistan during the financial year 2017/18. Total growth of livestock production during this period was recoded to be 3.76%, which is a considerable increase when compared to that of the proceeding years [2]. Livestock production uplifted the socioeconomic status of resources poor farming communities in Pakistan. There are ten agro-ecological zones in Pakistan categorized by climate, water availability of land, and land use, which may influence the spatial and temporal distribution of livestock diseases [3]. Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases which was eradicated from developed countries but remained endemic in developing countries due to lack of resources for control programs [4]
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