Seroprevalence of Brucella Antibodies in Household Goats in Benue North-East Senatorial District, Nigeria

摘要

Brucellosis is an important infectious disease of animals with serious economic and public health implications. Occupationally exposed individuals such as, farmers, veterinarians, laboratory personnel, abattoir workers, meat handlers and others havingcontacts with livestock are at a higher risk of contacting brucellosis, one of the most widespread zoonoses. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence oiBrucella antibodies in household goats in Katsina-Ala, Kwande and Ushongo local government areas of Benue State, Nigeria. Serum samples were obtained from household goats and were screened for Brucella antibodies using Rose-Bengal test procedure. Bivariate and odds ratio were also employed to estimate seropositivity to Brucella antibodies. Goats screened from Ushongo accounted for the highest seropositivity to Brucella antibodies (14.8%) followed by those from Kwande (11.2%), while, the lowest in goats screened from Katsina-Ala (9.8%). Other likely risk factors associated with brucellosis also studied included body conditions, source of buck, age, sex of goat, mating system, husbandry system adopted by the household and number of goats in a household. Appropriate control measures and public health awareness should be encouraged to mitigate brucellosis and the livestock should be monitored regularly for brucellosis.