Abstract
Brucellosis, globally known bacterial zoonosis, is endemic to Pakistan. B. abortus in bovines, B. melitensis in small ruminants and B. canis in dogs mainly cause this disease. A total of 1821 sera (1196 from sheep and 625 from goats) from animal herds near the Pakistan–Afghanistan border were collected. In parallel testing of sera for anti-Brucella antibodies (B. abortus and B. melitensis) was carried out by RBPT and indirect ELISA. The presence of Brucella DNA in sera was tested by real-time PCR. The overall percentage of seropositive samples was 0.99 (18/1821) by both tests. All positive samples originated from Baluchistan territory which translated into 1.76% (18/1021). None of the positive sera had signals for Brucella DNA and none of sera from goats carried detectable antibodies. Both tests showed an almost perfect agreement with Kappa statistics. The flock size was found to be associated with the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies. The samples of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) tested negative in both serological tests and hence were not processed for real-time PCR. The present study shows the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies in sheep in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan. Diagnostic services need to be improved and test and slaughter policies might be implemented for eradication of Brucella infection in these areas. Awareness about the infection is needed at the farmer’s level. Isolation and molecular biology of the isolates could help with understanding the prevailing etiology in a better way.
Highlights
Brucellosis is an important worldwide bacterial zoonosis caused by Brucella (B.) belonging to the family Brucellaceae and order Rhizobiales
No seropositive samples were found from goats in Baluchistan and from both sheep and goats in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)
All seropositive samples were from sheep and were from Zhob division in Baluchistan and were positive by both rose bengal plate test (RBPT)
Summary
Brucellosis is an important worldwide bacterial zoonosis caused by Brucella (B.) belonging to the family Brucellaceae and order Rhizobiales. Pathogens 2020, 9, 929 animals, B. melitensis small ruminants, B. canis dogs, B. suis pigs and B. ovis rams [1], spillover is possible [2,3] It is characterized by late term abortion, retention of fetal membranes, orchitis and epididymitis resulting in infertility. Humans contract brucellosis via ingestion of contaminated raw milk or by accidental exposure to infected animals [5,6,7]. It is important in terms of abortion, screening and culling of animals and milk loss especially in developing countries. Despite availability of newer and effective antimicrobials, the treatment of farm animals for brucellosis is generally forbidden as it poses significant public health risks [8,9,10]
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