Seroprevalence of Caprine Brucellosis and Its Associated Risk Factor in Mirab Abay district, South Eastern Ethiopia

Abstract

Brucellosis is an infectious bacterial zoonotic disease resulting in a serious economic loss in animal production sector and deterioration of public health. There is no previous study information on Seroprevalence of caprine brucellosis in Mirab Abay district. The cross sectional study was conducted with objective of determining prevalence and associated risk factors for caprine brucellosis from four selected peasant association (PAs) in Mirab Abaya districts through February to April in 2009. A total of 389 blood samples collected from goats and tested for the presence of brucella antibodies. Sera were first screened for brucella antibodies by modified Rose Bengal Plate Test (mRBPT) and positive sera were further subjected to test using the Complement Fixation Test (CFT) for confirmation. Out of 26 (6.7%) mRBPT positive sera subjected to retest by using CFT confirmed that 20 (5.1%) were positive for the caprine brucellosis. Among variety of factors considered, age of goats was found to be significantly associated with seropositivity (P<0.05). On the other hand, statistical analysis of the data showed no significant difference in seroprevalence to Brucella antibodies with that of herd size and sex of animal examined (P>0.05). The results revealed that established circulation of the organism in the study area. Thus, appropriate control measures needs due consideration.

Keywords: Brucellosis, Caprine, CFT, mRBPT, seroprevalence, Mirab Abaya, Ethiopia.