Serological and Molecular Investigation of Brucella Species in Dogs in Pakistan

• Published in: Pathogens (Basel) Vol. 8; no. 4; p. 294
• Main Authors: Jamil, Tariq, Melzer, Falk, Khan, Iahtasham, Iqbal, Mudassar, Saqib, Muhammad, Hammad Hussain, Muhammad, Schwarz, Stefan, Neubauer, Heinrich
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 13.12.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Abortion; Age; Agglutination; Animal husbandry; Animal welfare; Animals; Antibodies; Antigens; Brucella; Brucellosis; Cattle; Dairy farms; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; Dogs; Epidemiology; Infections; Livestock; Milk; Multivariate analysis; Pets; Polymerase chain reaction; Population; Real time; Serology; Vaccines; Zoonoses; Pakistan; Pakistan; Brucella abortus; Brucella canis; zoonosis; Dogs
• ISSN: 2076-0817; 2076-0817
• DOI: 10.3390/pathogens8040294

Brucellosis is an important bacterial zoonosis caused by and in Pakistan. The status of canine brucellosis caused by remains obscure. In total, 181 serum samples were collected from stray and working dogs in two different prefectures viz. Faisalabad ( = 87) and Bahawalpur ( = 94). Presence of antibodies against and was determined using the slow agglutination test (SAT) and ELISA, respectively. Real-time PCR was performed to detect and differentiate DNA at the species level. In Faisalabad, the serological prevalence was found to be 9.2% (8/87) and 10.3% (9/87) by SAT and ELISA, respectively. Only one of the ELISA positive samples (1.15%) yielded amplification for DNA. In Bahawalpur, 63.8% (60/94) samples were found positive by SAT; however, none of the samples was positive by ELISA or by real-time PCR. Location, age (≥1 year) and body condition (weak) were found to be associated with infection, whereas presence of wounds was found to be associated with infection only. These findings point towards a risk of transmission from dog to livestock and humans and vice versa. The study expects to draw the attention of concerned authorities towards infection prevention and animal welfare. This study warrants further epidemiological investigation on brucellosis in pet dogs and their owners. To the best of our knowledge, this is first ever report on and in dogs in Pakistan.