Edi Fero, Arla Juma, Ali Lilo, Toni Kirandjiski, Robert Connor, Xhelil Koleci
Veterinary Directorate of Albania, Institute of Food Safety and Veterinary, PAZA II expert, Veterinary Public Health Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Tirana, Albania
*Corresponding author; E-mail: xhelil.koleci@ubt.edu.al
Abstract
Bovine brucellosis is an important bacterial zoonotic disease caused by Brucellaabortus. It occurs worldwide, and is present in Albania. Cattle are susceptible to B.abortus, B.melitensisand B.suis. In Albania, bovine brucellosis is detected by active and passive surveillance. In 2016, the active surveillance was focused on dairy farms with more than 20 animals/farm. Currently, limited data is available on the causal agent of the disease in Albania.
The aim of this study was to determine the herd and individual animal prevalence of bovine brucellosis in dairy farms with more than 20 cattle.
Materials and methods:Bulk milk samples were collected from dairy farms. The milk samples were analyzed by a milk ring test. Sera from individual animals in milk ring test positive herds were tested by Rose Bengal test and positive results were confirmed by the complement fixation test.
Results: Eleven out of 278 herds were positive in the first monitoring round according to the milk ring test; nine of these herds were positive in Rose Bengal and complement fixation test. In the second phase, five of 257 dairy farms were positive in milk ring test and subsequent serological tests. In the milk ring test positive farms 5.2 to 59.3% of cattle were affected by brucellosis.
Keywords:Zoonotic disease outbreak; Bovine Brucellosis; Ring Milk Test.
