Abstract

ZAMBRANO AGUAYO, Marina Dalia  and  PEREZ RUANO, Miguel. Seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle and humans linked to livestock in the central and northern cantons of Manabí province, Ecuador. Rev Salud Anim. [online]. 2015, vol.37, n.3, pp. 164-172. ISSN 2224-4700.

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic disease producing severe economic losses to farmers in many countries including Ecuador. Updated data on this disease epidemiological behavior are needed to establish a control strategy. The aim of the present work was to find out the brucellosis seroprevalence in cattle and the workers involved in livestock herds and slaughterhouses in the northern and central regions of the province of Manabí. A transversal epidemiological study was conducted in seven cantons of the center and north of Manabí Province from October 2014 to March 2015, in which 2317 animals from 163 randomly selected cattle herds and 193 humans living or working with them were sampled. In addition, 990 bovines slaughtered in the slaughterhouses of the seven cantons studied and the 181 involved workers were also sampled. All sera were screened by using the rose Bengal test and the positive samples confirmed by competitive ELISA. The individual seroprevalence detected in the herds was 1.99%; the most affected canton was Tosagua with 6.01% (p£0.05). The seroprevalence in slaughterhouses was 2.63% with no significant differences among cantons. The overall individual seroprevalence was 2.33%, the highest reported in Tosagua canton with 6.87% (p£0.05). The affected herd seroprevalence was 10.43 %, with Tosagua as the most affected canton (p£0.05) with an affected herd seroprevalence of 22.22%. The human seroprevalence was 1.04% in herds, 1.10% in slaughterhouses, and an overall seroprevalence of 1.06% with no significant differences among cantons. The study showed a low prevalence of affected animals and humans and a high prevalence of affected herds in the province of Manabí.

Keywords : brucellosis; Brucella spp.; cattle; humans; seroprevalence.

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