Serological and molecular investigation for brucellosis in swine in selected districts of Uganda
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Tropical Animal Health and Production
Abstract
Brucellosis is a notifiable zoonotic disease affecting
livestock, humans, and wildlife in Uganda. Pigs can be infected
with human pathogenic Brucella suis biovars 1 and 3 and
can be a significant source of brucellosis for humans. Uganda
has a rapidly growing pig population, and the pork consumption
per capita is the highest in East Africa. The objective of
this work was to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis
in Ugandan pigs. A cross-sectional serosurvey of pigs was
conducted in three of the major pig-keeping districts in
Uganda (Masaka (n= 381 samples), Mukono (n = 398), and
Kamuli (n = 414)). In addition, pigs originating from these
districts were sampled in the major pig abattoir in Kampala
(n =472). In total, 1665 serum samples were investigated by
serological and molecular tests. Only three putative
brucellosis-positive samples were detected serologically using
indirect ELISA. These sera were found negative for Brucella
antibodies by CFT; however, two had antibodies against
Yersinia enterocolitica as determined by SAT. Presence of
antibodies against Yersiniae was confirmed by
Y. enterocolitica antibody-specific ELISA. The two
Yersiniae ELISA-positive samples were brucellosis negative
using real-time PCR. We tested additional 142 sera from the
1665 samples with real-time PCR. All tested negative. Under
this type of production system, we expect a maximum B. suis
prevalence of less than 1 % at 95 % confidence level, and
therefore, the risk of acquiring brucellosis from the pigs or
their products is negligible. However, pigs may harbor the
zoonotic Y. enterocolitica. This is the first study to investigate
the occurrence of brucellosis in pigs in Uganda and the first
study to report Y. enterocolitica antibodies in swine in
Uganda.
Description
Keywords
Screening, Porcine brucellosis, Yersiniosis, Masaka, Mukono, Kamuli districts
Citation
Erume, J., Roesel, K., Dione, M. M., Ejobi, F., Mboowa, G., Kungu, J. M., ... & Grace, D. (2016). Serological and molecular investigation for brucellosis in swine in selected districts of Uganda. Tropical Animal Health and Production, 48(6), 1147-1155. DOI 10.1007/s11250-016-1067-9