Serological and Bacteriological Screening of Brucellosis in Blood and Milk of Cows and Buffaloes

Document Type : Research article

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Department of Medical Lab Science (DMLS), College of Science (CSCN),Knowledge University (KNU)

Abstract

Brucellosis remains a serious infection to human and animal populations in developing countries with detrimental effects on public health. This work aimed to evaluate the occurrence of brucellosis in cow and buffaloes at Erbil Governorate by detection anti-Brucella antibodies and isolation of Brucella species. A total of 265 blood samples (140 from cows and 125 from buffaloes) were collected from villages around Erbil city, and 320 raw milk samples (170 from cow and 150 from buffaloes) were randomly collected from dairy farms during the period from July to December 2019. The results showed an overall seroprevalence of 11.7% according to RBT. The isolation of Brucella abortus was 7/19 (36.8%) and 12 / 19 (63.2%), while 9/24 (37.5%) and 15 /24 (62.5%) were Brucella melitensis from cattle and buffaloes milk samples, respectively. Noticeable increase in occurrence was found in November (20.8%), while the lowest rate was seen in July (5.9%). In conclusion, brucellosis is still a significant public health hazard in Erbil Governorate. Based on the tests performance, the study recommends MRT as a rapid screening test for detecting brucellosis in milk in farms, centers, and dairy factories. Consumers are also recommended to adequately pasteurize the milk in order to kill this milk-borne pathogen before consumption.

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