Seroprevalence of antibodies against bacterial pathogens in sheep from Equatorial Guinea

Abstract

Equatorial Guinea (EG) is a country in Central Africa with typical tropical weather. Sheep are an important source of food in EG, but the absence of information regarding infectious diseases that affect the native flocks of small ruminants is a concern. The country is currently implementing several new practices in the sheep industry associated with the importation of sheep from other countries. This study aimed to evaluate the seroprevalence of bacterial infections that are important to the sheep industry in EG sheep flocks. The detection of specific antibodies for the four agents studied was performed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 1,002 serum samples from EG sheep. The results showed a true prevalence of 13.37% for antibodies against Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, 0.59% for Brucella ovis, 19.89% for Chlamydophila abortus and 0.79% for Mycoplasma agalactiae in animals from production flocks. Among a group of 35 samples from isolated native animals, 47.56% were seropositive for antibodies against C. pseudotuberculosis, 42.84% for B. ovis, 54.28% for C. abortus and 11.35% for M. agalactiae. These results comprise the first report of the prevalence of infectious diseases in sheep in EG. They highlight the importance of adopting adequate measures to prevent infection by bacteria endemic to EG native flocks during the development of the sheep industry in the country.

Sero-Epidemiological Study of Selected Zoonotic and Abortifacient Pathogens in Cattle at a Wildlife-Livestock Interface in South Africa

“…Chlamydophila abortus is a recognized cause of abortion in small ruminants (Loureiro et al 2017, Heidari et al 2018, cattle (Osman et al 2012, Wheelhouse et al 2015, and humans (Pospischil et al 2002). It is an important zoonotic agent and has been associated with abortions and other reproductive problems in livestock (Borel et al 2006, Hireche et al 2016.…”

Molecular characterization of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, C. silvaticum, and C. auriscanis by ERIC-PCR

“…Equatorial Guinea was colonized by Portugal (1472-1778) and Spain (1778-1968); therefore, the goat and sheep flocks from Equatorial Guinea were mainly formed by animals of Portuguese and Spanish origin. The strain from Equatorial Guinea, identified as C1, was isolated from a goat of an open herd, in which animals had reported contact with goats imported from Brazil as a part of a recent attempt by the government to expand its small ruminant herd (LoUREIRo et al, 2017), which could explain its location near isolates from Brazil and Mexico. Moreover, it has the same genotype as strain 266 isolated from a goat in Portugal, and this genotype is the link between Brazilian and Mexican C. pseudotuberculosis clusters.…”

Age and seasonal pattern of contagious agalactia in small ruminants in Ukraine

“…In many countries of the Mediterranean basin, M. agalactiae is a major pathogen in the development of contagious agalactia and causes significant losses in the sheep and goat dairy industry in France (23), Spain (21) and Italy (7). In Africa, and specifically in eastern Algeria, contagious agalactia also causes significant economic losses, and in one-third of the 15 million susceptible animals the disease occurs with characteristic clinical signs -mastitis, arthritis, or mastitis and keratoconjunctivitis (18).…”