Mohamed Abd Elsalam Abdalla, Shamseldein Hassaballa Abdalla, Raga Elzaki:
Prevalence of Brucella Abortus Antibodies in Donkeys in Gaderef State of Eastern Sudan

MOHAMED ABD ELSALAM ABDALLA¹, SHAMSELDEIN HASSABALLA ABDALLA², RAGA ELZAKI^3
1Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, Sudan
²Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, Basic Medical Science, Sudan
³University of Gezira, Department of Rural Economics and Development, Sudan

A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out from January 2009 to December 2009 to determine the seroprevalence and identify risk factors for seropositivity of equine brucellosis in Gaderef state of eastern Sudan. The study aimed to provide documented information in the prevalence of the disease with view to assisting veterinary authorities in disease control policies and planning research prioritiesn the state. The study populations comprised indigenous breed donkeys in the state, and samples were selected by random sampling. Serum samples collected from 412 donkeys above one year of age were screened for Brucella antibodies by the Rose Bengal Plate Test and reactor sera were further tested with the cELISA for confirmation . Moreover, information was gathered on donkeys herds' health and management and risk factors using a structured questionnaire. In this study, the overall seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in the donkeys was 2.12% based on RBPT. Although brucellosis is considered endemic in ruminants in the study area. The results of univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that seropositivity to brucellosis was significantly higher in donkeys reared on a dairy farm with a high incidence for Brucella abortus were serologically positive for B. abortus and no other Brucella spp (p < 0.001). The results also indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in seroprevalence to brucellosis with increasing age (p < 0.01). Significant increment of seropositivity was also observed as herd size increases from small to medium (p < 0.05) and then to large sizes (p < 0.001). In addition, Nevertheless, in the multivariate logistic regression analysis, systemic factor (odds ratio [OR] = 9.8%, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.9-48.3, p < 0.01) and age (OR = 3.2, 95% CI = 2.1-48.3, p < 0.01) were identified as the major risk factors for individual animal seroprevalence. The results obtained suggest that equines my be a reservoir of brucellosis and my also play an important role in the epidemiologic patterns of this disease in Gaderef state in Sudan

Keywords: Brucella, Donkeys, ELISA, Prevalence rate, Risk factors

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Contact Address: Mohamed Abd Elsalam Abdalla, Sudan University of Sciences and Technology, Veterinary Medicine and SurgeryBahri- Hilat Koko- Colleg of  Veterinary  Medicine, 11111 Khartoum, Sudan, e-mail: salamaa2000yahoo.com