Brucellosis seroprevalence in Bali cattle with reproductive failure in South Sulawesi and Brucella abortus biovar 1 genotypes in the Eastern Indonesian archipelago

Abstract

BackgroundBrucellosis is a major cause of infertility and reproductive failure in livestock. While cattle in the Eastern Indonesian archipelago suffers from reproductive problems information on bovine brucellosis in the region is fragmentary. The control of brucellosis requires a major and prolonged effort and confirmation of the infection by isolation with detailed knowledge of the spread of the infection is essential when planning a control program.ResultsSerological investigation of Brucella infection in beef cattle tended under extensive farming conditions revealed a high seroprevalence (19.3%; 95% CI, 17–22) in the compliment fixation tests. The results of a rapid and simple field test correlated well with the Rose Bengal test (kappa, 0.917) and indicated an acceptable sensitivity (87.5%) and specificity (98.1%) compared with the complement fixation test. Reproductive failure was reported for 39.0% of the cows with a loss of calves due to abortion or early death amounting to 19.3%. Past reproductive failure did not, however, correlate with seropositivity in the complement fixation test (RP = 1.21; P = 0.847). B. abortus biovar 1 was freshly isolated from the hygromas of two cows and together with thirty banked isolates collected since 1990 from different parts of Sulawesi and Timor eight related genotypes could be distinguished with one genotype being identical to that of an isolate (BfR91) from Switzerland. The Indonesian genotypes formed together with BfR91 and one African and one North American isolate a distinct branch on the B. abortus biovar 1 dendogram.ConclusionsBovine brucellosis appears to be widespread in the Eastern Indonesian archipelago and calls for urgent intervention. The fresh isolation of the pathogen together with the observed high seroprevalence demonstrates the presence and frequent exposure of cattle in the area to the pathogen. The application of a rapid and simple field test for brucellosis could be very useful for the quick screening of cattle at the pen side.

Comparison of knowledge, attitude, and practices of animal and human brucellosis between nomadic pastoralists and non-pastoralists in Kenya

“…They routinely give extra care to pregnant livestock, which are typically kept near pasture areas to reduce the long treks that other animals undertake and including assisting them with birth and management of the newborn animals. In addition, they routinely drink raw blood and unboiled milk obtained for survival during their movement across the arid lands [9,27,28]. Nomadic pastoralists believe that unboiled camel milk has better taste and it possesses medicinal value including aphrodisiac properties [27][28][29][30][31].…”

“…In endemic countries, the seroprevalence of brucellosis in livestock varies from < 1 to 30% [6][7][8][9][10]. In these regions, human incidence of the disease ranges widely, with areas such as Africa and Middle East reporting between 50 and 250 cases per 100,000 [3].…”

Overview of Brucellosis in Nepal

“…Brucellosis is one of the important zoonotic diseases of livestock with worldwide distribution [ 1 , 2 ]. The most important brucellae of veterinary importance, and which cause abortion and infertility in female and male livestock are Brucella abortus (affecting bovines) B. melitensis (primarily affecting sheep and goats) and B. suis (primarily affecting pigs [ 2 - 4 ]. Establishment of the carrier state in animals can lead to a significant reduction in milk yield.…”

“…The presentation of disease in male animals includes orchitis, epididymitis and seminal vesiculitis [ 4 , 6 , 8 ]. Brucellosis is a major public and animal health problem in areas with intensive, mixed types of farming, and where owners co-habit with their animals during the night [ 2 , 9 , 10 ]. In these systems, the mixed, migratory and free roaming nature of livestock herding makes it impractical to separate the diseased from healthy animals thus ensuring a favorable environment for Brucella transmission.…”

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis and its Associated Risk Factors in Sheep and Goat in the Farms and Slaughter House in Mymensingh, Bangladesh

“…In sheep and goat the infection is mainly caused by B. melitensis. Transmission of brucellosis in animals is occurred by direct contact with the infected animal and ingestion of contaminated aborted materials (Muflihanah et al, 2013). Humans acquire B. abortus infection through direct contact with the infected animals and consumption of unpasteurized milk and milk products (Young, 1995;Mohamand et al, 2014).…”