Serological detection of the latent infection of Brucellosis in calves in Mosul city, Iraq

Abstract

Brucellosis is a widespread and endemic disease in the Middle East and Mediterranean regions, and it has significant public health and livestock industry concerns. It can affect a wide range of mammalian hosts, including humans. This study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of the latent infection of brucellosis in calves; Rose Bengal and indirect ELISA tests were conducted for this purpose. The serum samples were collected from 184 local calves of both sexes aged between 1 to 8 months (92 males and 92 females) from different regions of Mosul city. The current study revealed that all samples tested negative with the Rose Bengal test, whereas, in indirect ELISA 5.9%, the samples were against Brucella species. The seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies showed no statistical differences between males and females, which was 5.4 and 6.5%, respectively. This study concluded that the indirect ELISA test showed high diagnostic efficacy in detecting anti-Brucella antibodies in young calves.