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.
Publication Date: 2022-02-05 PubMed ID: 35122678PubMed Central: PMC9122437DOI: 10.1002/vms3.759Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary
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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
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
- Department of Food Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran.
- 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.
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