Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Small Ruminants Assayed by The Rose Bengal Test, Al-Jabal Al-Akhdar Libya

Abstract

This study aimed at determining the prevalence of anti- Brucella antibodies in small ruminants in Al- Jabal Al- Akhdar area, Libya. Nine regions were selected for the investigation (Al- Goba, Al- Wasata, Side Kahled, Lamloda, Al-Hesha, Marawa, Al-Gagab, Gandola and Ain Mara). Seroprevalence was assayed using the Rose – Bengal Plate Test (RBPT).  Four hundred blood samples were collected randomly from 247 sheep and 153 goats with a history of abortion and reproductive disorders, during the period from January 2015 to June 2016. Approximately 10 ml blood sample was taken from each animal, in vacutainers. Serum samples were separated and subjected to examination by the RBPT. Samples showing visible agglutination within 4 mins. were regarded as positive for anti- Brucella antibodies. Data were analyzed statistically by the Chi- square test using the SpSS software,  at p ≤ 0.05 level of significance. Out of the 400 ovine and caprine sera tested, 125 (38%) were positive for anti – Brucella antibodies by the RBPT (Table 3). The rate of seropositivity was higher in goats (69.3%) than in sheep (18.6%) (Table 2). There were variations in seroreactivity from different regions.  For instance, sera from Al- Hesha and Gandola exhibited 100% positivity, whereas those from both species in Al- Gagab were remarkably sero-negative (0%) (Table 3). Striking differences were shown by the sera from Gandola and Ain- Mara. Where all the caprine sera from Gandola were positive for anti – Brucella antibodies, all the 18 sera from Ain- Mara were serologically negative. Serum reactivity from both goats and sheep in other regions ranged between 60 and 83.3% in goats and 11.5 and 23.3% in sheep (Table 3). It can be concluded that the prevalence of anti- Brucella antibodies is high in small ruminants of Al- Jabal Al- Akhdar, Libya and may indicate a possible existence of Brucellosis in goats and sheep.