Serological Investigation of Caprine Brucellosis Associated With Abortion History in Bangladesh Agricultural University Goat Farm With a Brief Review

Background: Brucella is an important and widespread intracellular zoonotic bacterium distributed globally that causes abortion and reproductive failure in livestock and zoonotic illness with serious chronic complications in affected humans. Brucellosis is recognized as re-emerging globally and neglected in low to medium-income countries in the world, including Bangladesh. Caprine brucellosis is caused by Brucella melitensis and is an important public health problem. Its diagnosis is mainly based on a primary screening test followed by confirmatory serologic tests. Several articles on the serological prevalence of brucellosis in goats associated with reproductive disorders have been published in Bangladesh and need to be reviewed for future research programs. Objectives: This paper describes the seroprevalence of Brucella infection in farm goats with a previous history of abortion, including a brief review of caprine brucellosis in Bangladesh. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted to detect the relationship between Brucella seropositivity and a history of previous abortion in goats, supported by a brief review of articles published on Brucella seropositivity in goats, especially associated with reproductive disorders in Bangladesh. A total of 26 articles published from Bangladesh and elsewhere have been reviewed to present this manuscript. Eight directly related inland reports have been examined to compare the results of the present findings. A total of 150 goat serum samples were obtained for the current investigation from BAU Goat Farm. A standardized questionnaire was used to collect information on host factors, management factors, and the occurrence of previous reproductive disorders. The serological diagnosis of brucellosis is performed using a screening test (e.g., RBPT) followed by a confirmatory test (e.g., ELISA) per kit manufacturer instructions. Results: Overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection in goats was recorded as 2.67% (4/150) by RBPT and 2.0% (3/150) by I-ELISA on the serum samples collected from BAUGF, Mymensingh. The seroprevalence of Brucella infection was found higher in female goats (3.00%) than in male goats (2.00%), higher in adults (5.00%) than in young (1.25%) goats, pregnant (RBPT 3.33% & I-ELISA 1.67%) than non-pregnant (RBPT 2.2% & I-ELISA 1.67%) goats. A significantly higher seropositivity of Brucella infection was recorded in goats with a previous history of abortion with both the RBPT (30.0%) and I-ELISA (20.0%). These findings are compared with the results of the earlier inland reports and concluded. Conclusions: This study has used RBPT as a screening test and i-ELISA as a confirmatory test, which has detected an overall 2.67% and 2.0% seropositivity to Brucella infection in goats, respectively, with significantly higher prevalence in goats with a previous history of abortion with both the RBPT (30.0%) and I-ELISA (20.0%) tests. Thus, the zoonotic prevalence and effect of Brucella infection in humans and animals have been documented in Bangladesh. The prevalence of Brucella infection at a low level (2.0%) in goats in Bangladesh is appropriate for launching and building a program for prevention and control through testing and slaughter, removing diseased animals from flocks. However, the ‘One Health’ approach with a targeted intervention policy should be implemented to break Bangladesh's Brucella transmission chain between animals and humans.