FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Veterinary medicine and science2022; 8(3); 1056-1064; doi: 10.1002/vms3.759

Seroprevalence and risk factors of brucellosis in Arabian horses.

Abstract: Brucellosis, as a zoonotic disease, mainly occurs in horses by Brucella abortus, Brucella canis and Brucella suis. The disease in equines is often asymptomatic, but the clinical signs in horses are mostly characterized by bursitis, arthritis and tenosynovitis. This study, thus, aimed to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis and its associated risk factors in the Arabian horses of Khuzestan province, South-west Iran. To that end, the blood samples randomly collected from 180 Arabian horses were analyzed for the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), serum agglutination test (SAT), 2-mercaptoethanol test (2-ME) and a commercial i-ELISA kit. The ROC curve analysis showed that the best cut-off point for S/P values in i-ELISA turned out to be 26.25%. The results showed that the overall seroprevalence of brucellosis based on parallel interpretation of the test results was 12.22% (Positive/Tested = 22/180). The prevalence of acute and chronic brucellosis was 8.3 and 3.9%, respectively. The seroprevalence of brucellosis with RBPT and i-ELISA methods was 1.11% (2/180) and 7.22% (13/180), respectively. According to what SAT revealed, 9.44% (17/180) of sera had a titer of 40 or greater, and at 2-ME, 7.22% of samples (13 out of 180 samples) depicted a titer of 40. The results of i-ELISA, SAT and 2-ME were significantly different from those of RBPT (p < 0.01); however, there was no significant difference between i-ELISA, SAT and 2-ME in findings (p > 0.05). The results of this study recommend that i-ELISA be used for screening purposes of brucellosis in horses. The findings confirmed that Arabian horses are natural hosts for the Brucellae. It is, thus, necessary to adopt appropriate prevention and control programs by health authorities and horse owners so as to reduce the distribution and transmission of the infection in the regions where brucellosis is prevalent.
© 2022 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2022-02-05 PubMed ID: 35122678PubMed Central: PMC9122437DOI: 10.1002/vms3.759Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article
  • Research Support
  • Non-U.S. Gov't

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article focuses on discovering the prevalence and risk factors associated with brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, in Arabian horses in Khuzestan province, South-west Iran. It recommends using the immunosorbent assay (i-ELISA) for screening, and underlines the need for preventive measures to control the spread of this infection.

Analyses and Methods

  • The study involved the analysis of blood samples collected at random from 180 Arabian horses.
  • Different serological tests were used to scrutinize the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies. Tests performed were Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), Serum Agglutination Test (SAT), 2-mercaptoethanol test (2-ME), and a commercial i-ELISA kit.
  • The Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to determine the best cut-off point for S/P values in i-ELISA.

Results and Findings

  • The overall seroprevalence of brucellosis, derived from parallel interpretation of the test results, was found to be 12.22%.
  • The prevalence of acute and chronic brucellosis was 8.3% and 3.9% respectively.
  • According to the results from RBPT and i-ELISA methods, the seroprevalence of brucellosis was 1.11% and 7.22% respectively.
  • SAT showed that 9.44% of serum samples had a titer of 40 or greater, while 2-ME test showed 7.22% of samples with a similarly high titer.
  • The findings differed significantly between the RBPT and the other tests, but no major difference was found between the results of SAT, 2-ME, and i-ELISA.

Conclusion and Recommendations

  • Based on the findings, the study highlights that i-ELISA can be effectively used for disease screening in Arabian horses.
  • The study confirmed that Arabian horses serve as natural hosts to Brucella, the organism causing brucellosis.
  • The researchers stressed the importance of implementing proper preventive and control programs to limit the spread and transmission of brucellosis, especially in regions where the disease is already prevalent.

Cite This Article

APA
Lotfi Z, Pourmahdi Borujeni M, Ghorbanpoor M, Ghadrdan Mashhadi AR. (2022). Seroprevalence and risk factors of brucellosis in Arabian horses. Vet Med Sci, 8(3), 1056-1064. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.759

Publication

Veterinary medicine and science
ISSN: 2053-1095
NlmUniqueID: 101678837
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 8
Issue: 3
Pages: 1056-1064

Researcher Affiliations

Lotfi, Zahra
  • Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Pourmahdi Borujeni, Mahdi
  • Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Ghorbanpoor, Masoud
  • Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
Ghadrdan Mashhadi, Ali Reza
  • Department of Clinical Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Brucella abortus
  • Brucellosis / epidemiology
  • Brucellosis / veterinary
  • Horse Diseases / epidemiology
  • Horses
  • Mercaptoethanol
  • Risk Factors
  • Rose Bengal
  • Seroepidemiologic Studies

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors of this manuscript declare no conflict of interest.

References

This article includes 57 references
  1. Abo-Shehada MN. Seroprevalence of Brucella species in equids in Jordan.. Vet Rec 2009 Aug 29;165(9):267-8.
    pubmed: 19717833doi: 10.1136/vr.165.9.267google scholar: lookup
  2. Acosta-González RI, González-Reyes I, Flores-Gutiérrez GH. Prevalence of Brucella abortus antibodies in equines of a tropical region of Mexico.. Can J Vet Res 2006 Oct;70(4):302-4.
    pmc: PMC1562530pubmed: 17042384
  3. Alton GG, Jones LM, Angus RD, Verger JM. Techniques for the brucellosis laboratory. pp. 34–61.
  4. Antunes J, Allendorf S, Appolinário C, Peres M, Perotta J, Neves T, Deconto I, Barros Filho I, Biondo A, Megid J. Serology for Brucella abortus in cart horses from an urban area in Brazil. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia 65, 619–621.
  5. Ardo MB, Abubakar DM. Seroprevalence of horse (Equus caballus) brucellosis on the Mambilla plateau of Taraba State, Nigeria.. J Equine Sci 2016;27(1):1-6.
    pmc: PMC4828245pubmed: 27073329doi: 10.1294/jes.27.1google scholar: lookup
  6. Ardo MB, Abubakar DM, Adamu Z. Prevalence of Brucella antibodies in horses (Equus Caballus) in Jalingo, Taraba State, Nigeria. Journal of Public Health and Epidemiology 8, 111–114.
  7. Badiei K, Sharifiyazdi H, Pourjafar M, Ghane M, Hashemi SA. Seroepidemiology and molecular detection of Brucella infection in Iranian horses: A provincial study. Iranian Journal of Veterinary Medicine 7, 43–49.
  8. Bertu WJ, Ocholi RA, Gusi AM, Abdullahi S, Zwandor NJ, Durbi IAA, Opara J, Okewole PA. Brucella abortus infection in a multispecies livestock farm in Nigeria. International Journal of Biotechnology and Food Science 3, 36–40.
  9. nCensusn. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran. pp. 113–124.
  10. Cohen ND, Carter GK, McMullan WC. Fistulous withers in horses: 24 cases (1984-1990).. J Am Vet Med Assoc 1992 Jul 1;201(1):121-4.
    pubmed: 1644634
  11. Corbel MJ. Brucellosis: an overview.. Emerg Infect Dis 1997 Apr-Jun;3(2):213-21.
    doi: 10.3201/eid0302.970219pmc: PMC2627605pubmed: 9204307google scholar: lookup
  12. Cvetnic Z, Spicic S, Curic S, Jukic B, Lojkic M, Albert D, Thiébaud M, Garin-Bastuji B. Isolation of Brucella suis biovar 3 from horses in Croatia.. Vet Rec 2005 Apr 30;156(18):584-5.
    pubmed: 15866906doi: 10.1136/vr.156.18.584google scholar: lookup
  13. Denny HR. Brucellosis in the horse.. Vet Rec 1972 Jan 22;90(4):86-90.
    pubmed: 4624424doi: 10.1136/vr.90.4.86google scholar: lookup
  14. Dohoo IR, Martin SW, Stryhn H. Veterinary epidemiologic research. .
  15. Ducrotoy MJ, Muñoz PM, Conde-Álvarez R, Blasco JM, Moriyón I. A systematic review of current immunological tests for the diagnosis of cattle brucellosis.. Prev Vet Med 2018 Mar 1;151:57-72.
    pubmed: 29496108doi: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2018.01.005google scholar: lookup
  16. Ehizibolo DO, Gusi AM, Ehizibolo PO, Mbuk EU, Ocholi RA. Serologic prevalence of brucellosis in horse stables in two northern States of Nigeria.. J Equine Sci 2011;22(1):17-9.
    pmc: PMC4013996pubmed: 24833983doi: 10.1294/jes.22.*17google scholar: lookup
  17. Esmaeili H. Brucellosis in Islamic republic of Iran. Journal of Medical Bacteriology 3(3–4), 47–57.
  18. Gharekhani J, Barati E, Abbasi Doulatshahi E, Talaei M, Rasouli MR. Brucella infection in horses from Hamedan Province, Iran. Avicenna Journal of Clinical Microbiology and Infection 7(2), 60–62.
  19. Ghobadi N, Salehi AR. Evaluation prevalence of brucellosis in horse Hamadan of Iran. International Journal of Agriculture and Crop Sciences 5(6), 603–605.
  20. Godfroid J, Nielsen K, Saegerman C. Diagnosis of brucellosis in livestock and wildlife.. Croat Med J 2010 Aug;51(4):296-305.
    pmc: PMC2931434pubmed: 20718082doi: 10.3325/cmj.2010.51.296google scholar: lookup
  21. Godfroid J, Saegerman C, Wellemans V, Walravens K, Letesson JJ, Tibor A, Mc Millan A, Spencer S, Sanna M, Bakker D, Pouillot R, Garin-Bastuji B. How to substantiate eradication of bovine brucellosis when aspecific serological reactions occur in the course of brucellosis testing.. Vet Microbiol 2002 Dec 20;90(1-4):461-77.
    pubmed: 12414165doi: 10.1016/s0378-1135(02)00230-4google scholar: lookup
  22. Göz Y, Babur C, Aydin A, Kılıç S. Seroprevalence of toxoplasmosis, brucellosis and listeriosis in horses in Hakkari, eastern region of Turkey. Revue De Medecine Veterinaire 158(11), 534–539.
  23. Gul ST, Khan A. Epidemiology and epizootiology of brucellosis: a review. Pakistan Veterinary Journal 27, 145–151.
  24. Gul ST, Ahrar K, Maqbool A, Iftikhar H. Seroprevalence of brucellosis and associated hematobiochemical changes in Pakistani horses. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Sciences 50(4), 745–750.
  25. Hashemitabar GR, Poursafar S. A survey of brucellosis in Turkmen's horses in Iran. p, 187.
  26. Hussain A, Jamil T, Tareen AM, Melzer F, Hussain MH, Khan I, Saqib M, Zohaib A, Hussain R, Ahmad W, Iqbal M, Neubauer H. Serological and Molecular Investigation of Brucellosis in Breeding Equids in Pakistani Punjab.. Pathogens 2020 Aug 19;9(9).
    doi: 10.3390/pathogens9090673pmc: PMC7560188pubmed: 32825067google scholar: lookup
  27. Kuila P, Dutta D, Chakrabarty U, Chatterjee D, Das S. Comparison of serological tests and PCR for diagnosis of human brucellosis suffering from fever. Asian Journal of Pharmaceutical and Clinical Research 10, 109–111.
  28. Lewis MJ, Wagner B, Woof JM. The different effector function capabilities of the seven equine IgG subclasses have implications for vaccine strategies.. Mol Immunol 2008 Feb;45(3):818-27.
    pmc: PMC2075531pubmed: 17669496doi: 10.1016/j.molimm.2007.06.158google scholar: lookup
  29. Lucero NE, Ayala SM, Escobar GI, Jacob NR. Brucella isolated in humans and animals in Latin America from 1968 to 2006.. Epidemiol Infect 2008 Apr;136(4):496-503.
    pmc: PMC2870831pubmed: 17559694doi: 10.1017/s0950268807008795google scholar: lookup
  30. Musa M. A serological study on equine brucellosis in Darfur, Western Sudan. The Sudan Journal of Veterinary Research 19, 7–11.
  31. Nemati Y. Seroprevalence of Brucella abortus in native horses from Tabriz suburb. .
  32. Ocholi RA, Bertu WJ, Kwaga JK, Ajogi I, Bale JO, Okpara J. Carpal bursitis associated with Brucella abortus in a horse in Nigeria.. Vet Rec 2004 Oct 30;155(18):566-7.
    pubmed: 15559426doi: 10.1136/vr.155.18.566google scholar: lookup
  33. Omer MK, Skjerve E, Holstad G, Woldehiwet Z, Macmillan AP. Prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. in cattle, sheep, goats, horses and camels in the State of Eritrea; influence of husbandry systems.. Epidemiol Infect 2000 Oct;125(2):447-53.
    pmc: PMC2869619pubmed: 11117970doi: 10.1017/s0950268899004501google scholar: lookup
  34. Pinset PJN, Fuller CJ. Outline of clinical diagnosis in the horse. 2nd ed., p. 130.
  35. Racine R, Winslow GM. IgM in microbial infections: taken for granted?. Immunol Lett 2009 Aug 15;125(2):79-85.
    doi: 10.1016/j.imlet.2009.06.003pmc: PMC2747358pubmed: 19539648google scholar: lookup
  36. Rafeiei Sharebabaki M. Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Arab horses from Yazd province. .
  37. Reed SM, Bayly WM. Equine internal medicine. p. 89.
  38. Roushan MR, Amiri MJ, Laly A, Mostafazadeh A, Bijani A. Follow-up standard agglutination and 2-mercaptoethanol tests in 175 clinically cured cases of human brucellosis.. Int J Infect Dis 2010 Mar;14(3):e250-3.
    pubmed: 19648045doi: 10.1016/j.ijid.2009.05.008google scholar: lookup
  39. Sadiq MA, Tijjani AN, Auwal MS, Mustapha AR, Tijjani AO, Gulani I, Mohammed A. Prevalence of Brucella antibodies in donkeys (Equus asinus) in Borno and Yobe states, Nigeria. Sokoto Journal of Veterinary Sciences 11(1), 7–12.
  40. Saegerman C, De Waele L, Gilson D, Godfroid J, Thiange P, Michel P, Limbourg B, Vo TK, Limet J, Letesson JJ, Berkvens D. Evaluation of three serum i-ELISAs using monoclonal antibodies and protein G as peroxidase conjugate for the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis.. Vet Microbiol 2004 May 20;100(1-2):91-105.
    pubmed: 15135517doi: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2004.02.003google scholar: lookup
  41. Safirullah, Anwar K, Abdur-Raziq, Shahid M, Raza S, Khan N, Amin Y. Epidemiological study of brucellosis in equine of district Peshawar Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pakistan. International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences 3, 795–800.
  42. Santos RF, Silva GCP, Assis NA, Mathias LA. Brucella spp. in equines slaughtered in the south region of Brazil. Arquivo Brasileiro de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia 68, 853–857.
  43. Solmaz H, Tutuncu M, Akkan HA, Aksakal A, Gulhan T, Boynukara B. Brucellosis in horses around Van, Turkey. Indian Veterinary Journal 81, 748–749.
  44. nStatistical Center of Irann. (2017). https://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/0/News/1396/a‐dams96.pdf (2017).
  45. Sutherland SS. Evaluation of the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in the detection of cattle infected with Brucella abortus.. Vet Microbiol 1984 Dec;10(1):23-32.
    pubmed: 6442028doi: 10.1016/0378-1135(84)90053-1google scholar: lookup
  46. Tahamtan Y, Namavari MM, Amrabadi OR, Tahamtan MR. Brucellosis among horses in Shiraz-Iran: A seroprevalence study and control strategy. 13th International Congress on Infectious Diseases Abstracts, Poster Presentations e134, 18.025.
  47. Tahamtan Y, Namavari M, Mohammadi G, Jula GM. Prevalence of brucellosis in horse north-east of Iran. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 30, 376–378.
  48. Taheri O. Seroprevalence of Brucella infection in horses from Kerman province. .
  49. Tel OY, Arserim NB, Keskin O. Seroprevalence of equine brucellosis in Southeast Turkey. YYU Veteriner Fakultesi Dergisi 22(3), 181–183.
  50. Thrusfield M, Christley R, Brown H, Diggle PJ, French N, Howe K, Kelly L, O'Connor A, Sargeant J, Wood H. Veterinary epidemiology. 4th ed., pp. 259–313.
  51. Wintzer HJ. Equine diseases, a Textbook for Students and Practitioners. pp. 367–368.
  52. Yilmaz O, Wilson RT. The domestic livestock resources of Turkey: occurrence and control of diseases of horses, donkeys and mules. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 33(12), 1021–1030.
  53. Yohannes M, Gill JP, Ghatak S, Singh DK, Tolosa T. Comparative evaluation of the Rose Bengal plate test, standard tube agglutination test and complement fixation test for the diagnosis of human brucellosis.. Rev Sci Tech 2012 Dec;31(3):979-84.
    pubmed: 23520751doi: 10.20506/rst.31.3.2175google scholar: lookup
  54. Young EJ. Serologic diagnosis of human brucellosis: analysis of 214 cases by agglutination tests and review of the literature.. Rev Infect Dis 1991 May-Jun;13(3):359-72.
    doi: 10.1093/clinids/13.3.359pubmed: 1866536google scholar: lookup
  55. Zarasvandi A, Carranza EJM, Moore F, Rastmanesh F. Spatio-temporal occurrences and mineralogical–geochemical characteristics of airborne dusts in Khuzestan Province (southwestern Iran). Journal of Geochemical Exploration 111, 138–151.
  56. Zeinali M, Shirzadi M, Haj Rasooliha H. National guideline for Brucellosis control. Iran Ministry of Health.
  57. Zolzaya B, Selenge T, Narangarav T, Gantsetseg D, Erdenechimeg D, Zinsstag J, Schelling E. Representative seroprevalences of human and livestock brucellosis in two Mongolian provinces.. Ecohealth 2014 Sep;11(3):356-71.
    pmc: PMC4111879pubmed: 25012215doi: 10.1007/s10393-014-0962-7google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Costa PWL, Oliveira CSM, Bezerra RA, Alvares FBV, Formiga VHAS, Martins MRDD, Feitosa TF, Vilela VLR. Anti-Toxoplasma gondii and Anti-Neospora caninum Antibodies in Urban Traction Equids in Northeast Brazil: Seroprevalence and Risk Factors. Trop Med Infect Dis 2023 Apr 20;8(4).
    doi: 10.3390/tropicalmed8040234pubmed: 37104359google scholar: lookup
  2. Dahmani A, Salhi O, Nabi M, Boucif A, Mekroud M, Touhami NAK, Ouchene N. Abortive diseases in horses and donkeys in Algeria: a systematic review. Trop Anim Health Prod 2026 Jan 5;58(1):30.
    doi: 10.1007/s11250-025-04843-4pubmed: 41489843google scholar: lookup
  3. Amini M, Alamian S, Talebhemmat M, Dadar M. Equine brucellosis in Iran: serological, bacteriological and molecular analysis. Vet Res Commun 2024 Jun;48(3):1511-1519.
    doi: 10.1007/s11259-024-10332-0pubmed: 38366185google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,658 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.