An Epidemiological Study of Brucellosis in Different Animal Species from the Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Brucellosis is a zoonotic bacterial illness that affects humans and a variety of domestic animals, especially ruminants. It is mostly transmitted through the consumption of contaminated drinks, foods, undercooked meat, or unpasteurized milk or contact with infected animals. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the seroprevalence of brucellosis in camels, sheep, and goat herds in the Qassim region, Saudi Arabia, using commonly used diagnostic serological procedures such as the Rose Bengal test (RBT), complement fixation test (CFT), and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The seroprevalence of brucellosis in camels, sheep, and goats was determined in the selected areas using a cross-sectional study design and a total of 690 farm animals of both sexes of different ages from the three animal species (274 camels, 227 sheep, and 189 goats). According to RBT results, 65 sera were positive for brucellosis, including 15 (5.47%) for camels, 32 (14.09%) for sheep, and 18 (9.50%) for goats. CFT and c-ELISA were performed as confirmatory tests on positive samples resulting from RBT. With c-ELISA, 60 serum samples were confirmed positive, in 14 (5.10%), 30 (13.21%), and 16 (8.46%) camels, sheep, and goats, respectively. There were 59 serum samples confirmed as positive for CFT, including 14 (5.11%), 29 (12.77%), and 16 (8.46%) for camels, sheep, and goats, respectively. Overall, the highest seroprevalence of brucellosis was found in sheep while the least was found in camels from the three tests (RBT, c-ELISA, and CFT). The highest seroprevalence of brucellosis was found in sheep while the least seroprevalence was found in camels. There was also a higher seroprevalence of brucellosis among female animals than males as well as among old animals than young animals. The study, thus, demonstrates brucellosis seroprevalence among farm animals (camels, sheep, and goats) and the significance of intervention measures against brucellosis incidence in both humans and animals through the creation of public awareness and other relevant policy measures such as livestock vaccination, effective hygiene management, and adequate quarantine or serological analysis for newly introduced animals.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Brucellosis Among the General Population in Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…In contrast, among the pastoral community in Kenya, only 36% participated in slaughtering animals. However, the seroprevalence of brucellosis among livestock in Kenya is higher than in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia [14,15]. Only 6.7% of livestock owners in our study reported always wearing gloves while caring for their livestock.…”

“…In contrast, among the pastoral community in Kenya, only 36% participated in slaughtering animals. However, the seroprevalence of brucellosis among livestock in Kenya is higher than in the Qassim region of Saudi Arabia [ 14 , 15 ].…”

Brucellosis and One Health: Inherited and Future Challenges

“…A common mistake is the use of a “confirmatory test strategy”, typically combining the RBT for “screening” with either the complement fixation test or iELISA or cELISAs (or SAT, which is poorly sensitive) as “confirmatory” tests. For example, in a 2016 review of brucellosis in SSA, 17/34 studies used this incorrect strategy [ 52 ], and the problem persists in this subcontinent and elsewhere [ 57 , 58 , 59 , 63 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 , 109 , 110 , 111 , 112 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 , 119 , 120 , 121 , 122 , 123 , 124 , 125 ]. Provided it is properly understood and implemented, this serial RBT/complement fixation strategy can help to minimize the number of animals culled whenever vaccination with S strains (S19 or Rev1) is part of a correctly implemented combined eradication program in which it is feasible to conduct a repeated testing of RBT-positive animals to follow up titer decreases/increases in complement fixation [ 3 ].…”

Brucellosis: Unveiling the complexities of a pervasive zoonotic disease and its global impacts

“…The acute signs of pig brucellosis include arthritis, orchitis, infertility, epididymitis, abortion, and the birth of feeble piglets ( Hull and Schumaker, 2018 ). Clinical signs seen in other animal species are also present in sheep and goats ( Almuzaini, 2023 ).…”