Brucellosis is endemic in most parts of Egypt, where it is caused mainly by Brucella melitensis biovar 3, and affects cattle and small ruminants in spite of ongoing efforts devoted to its control. Knowledge of the predominant Brucella species/strains circulating in a region is a prerequisite of a brucellosis control strategy. For this reason a study aiming at the evaluation of the phenotypic and genetic heterogeneity of a panel of 17 Brucella spp. isolates recovered from domestic ruminants (cattle, buffalo, sheep, and goat) from four governorates during a period of five years (2002–2007) was carried out using microbiological tests and molecular biology techniques (PCR, MLVA-15, and sequencing). Thirteen strains were identified as B. melitensis biovar 3 while all phenotypic and genetic techniques classified the remaining isolates as B. abortus (n = 2) and B. suis biovar 1 (n = 2). MLVA-15 yielded a high discriminatory power (h = 0.801), indicating a high genetic diversity among the B. melitensis strains circulating among domestic ruminants in Egypt. This is the first report of the isolation of B. suis from cattle in Egypt which, coupled with the finding of B. abortus, suggests a potential role of livestock as reservoirs of several zoonotic Brucella species in the region.

SUMMARYPrevalence of brucella-specific antibodies was measured in 597 persons in high-risk occupations living in 10 regions of Lebanon using the standard agglutination test (SAT), anti-human globulin (Coombs') test (AHGT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for measuring immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM and IgA. The study population consisted of butchers (54%), farmers (35 %), laboratory technicians (8 %), abbatoir workers (2%) and veterinarians (1 %), with 82% males and 18% females. The overall seroprevalence based on SAT and AHGT titres of > 80 was 1b7% and 15 %, respectively, but seroprevalence varied by region from 0-5 % in SAT and from 3-434 % for AHGT. The overall seroprevalence based on ELISA IgG (OD > 0 6), IgM (OD > 0'6) and IgA (OD > 0 3) was 57, 61 and 26 %, respectively. The highest seroprevalence was noted in Biqaa (34 %), Kisrwan (24%), Shouf (21 %), Sidon (16 %) and Aley (12 %) regions. Nineteen percent of those surveyed reported symptoms that could be associated with brucellosis. We conclude that exposure to brucellosis is high among persons in high-risk occupations from all surveyed regions in Lebanon. Such findings should be used to design control measures especially now that the 17 years of civil strife is over.

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Escherichia coliare the most common cause of diarrhea in calves. Diarrhea in calvesremains one of the most important problems faced by livestock, causing great economic losses. Some strains ofE. coli characterized by the presence of specific virulence factors including haemolysin production, resistance to bactericidal effects of serum and Congo red binding activity. In this studyfecal samples were collected from 115 diarrheic calves aged from 3 days to one year and from different localities in Egypt along the period from February to August 2015.The prevalence of E. coli in diarrheic calves was 72.2%. 39.8% of isolated E. coli were haemolytic to sheep blood agar, 68.7% were serum resistant, 100% showed Congo red binding activity.