Background: Most of the smallholder animal farmers in rural Bangladesh depend on livestock for their livelihoods but significant percentage of these animals do not achieve their potential mainly due to inadequate nutrition and disease and occasionally transmit zoonotic disease like brucellosis. Brucellosis has been recognized as a neglected zoonotic disease in the low-income countries that produce few or no clinical signs in the affected animals making it more difficult for the dairy farmers to use preventive measures. However, sero-monitoring could help to detect the occurrence of Brucella infection in smallholder dairy farm management system. Objective: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated risk factors for positivity of bovine brucellosis by using sero-screening and milk ring test supported with questionnaire Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study on bovine brucellosis was conducted in smallholder dairy cows in the district of Mymensingh during the period from August to December 2019. Serum samples of 460 lactating cows along with their milk samples were collected randomly. Serum samples were screened for brucellosis with Rapid Antigen Kit Test and Rose Bengal Test (RBT), whereas milk samples were tested with Milk Ring Test (MRT). Farm and animal level demographic and risk factor data were collected using a questionnaire and analyzed using univariable and multivariable logistic regression. Results: The overall sero-prevalence was found to be 3.9% (95% CI 2.4-6.2) using RBT and Rapid Antigen Kit Test and 2.8% (CI 1.5-4.9) using Milk Ring Test, respectively. The odds of brucellosis was 7.4 times (95% CI: 2.5-21.5) higher in cows with repeat breeding that without repeat breeding. Moreover, the sero-prevalence of brucellosis was significantly higher (Odds ratio: 15.7; 95% CI: 5.2-47.4) in cows with retention of fetal membranes than without retention of fetal membranes. Conclusions: The prevalence of Brucella infection in smallholder dairy farms with no adaptation of any preventive measures against this disease in Bangladesh. The sero-prevalence of brucellosis recorded in this study should be interpreted with caution and confirmatory diagnosis is needed to know the accurate status of brucellosis in smallholder dairy farms. The prevalence of Brucella infection in smallholder farms by using sero-test and milk ring test warrants further molecular test prior to embarking on a control program.

Background: Glanders is a highly contagious and fatal zoonotic reportable antique disease of solipeds caused by the Gram-negative bacterium Burkholderia mallei. This disease has been eradicated from most of the western developed countries in the 20th century and its occurrence was reduced in endemic developing nations but recent reports on the occurrence of clinical cases and outbreaks of this disease in both the eradicated and endemic countries indicates that it has regained the status of a re-emerging disease in the world. However, the information on the occurrence of B. mallei infection is almost lacking in Bangladesh. Objective: This study was conducted on the sero-surveillance and risk factors of B. mallei infection in indigenous working horses in Bangladesh Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study on the sero-surveillance and risk factors of B. mallei infection was carried out in 125 indigenous horses in the districts of Mymensingh and Tangail during January to August 2019. Individual serum samples were screened using Complement fixation test (CFT) at the OIE and National Reference Laboratory for Glanders, Germany and Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) at the National Research Centre on Equines, Haryana, India. Risk factors were identified using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Results: The overall sero-prevalence of B. mallei infection in indigenous horses was found to be 10.4% (95% CI: 5.9 -17.5). None of the 13 CFT positive sera was positive with ELISA. The odds of B. mallei infection were 6.1 times (95%CI: 1.7-28.9) higher in horses with the history of skin lesion than those without skin lesion. Significantly higher odds of B. mallei infection (odds ratio: 5.8; 95% CI: 1.4-39.7) were observed in horses with the history of parasitic infestation than those without parasitic infestation. Conclusions: The relatively higher prevalence of B. mallei infection observed in this study should be interpreted with caution as all CFT positive samples negative with ELISA indicating some false positive reactions. Further studies are needed to test the accuracy of the serological tests for the detection of B. mallei infection in horses in Bangladesh. Keywords: Burkholderia mallei infection, Carrier and latent infections, Sero-surveillance, Indigenous horses, CFT, ELISA, Bangladesh, Review, Validation, Serotests