Molecular Survey of Brucella Species in Sheep and Goats Slaughtered at Sokoto Modern Abattoir, Sokoto State, Nigeria

Abstract

Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease affecting animals and humans.  A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of brucellosis in sheep and goats slaughtered at Sokoto metropolitan abattoir using serological assay and molecular detection technique. Serum samples from 131 sheep and 242 goats were analyzed. An overall prevalence of 10.72% (40/373) was recorded using PCR while none of the samples was positive by RBPT. The prevalence rates in sheep and goats were 12.2% (16/131) and 9.91% (24/242) respectively, while the sex prevalence rates were 16.47% and 4.54% for rams and ewes respectively. The prevalence based on breed were 15.18%, 11.11% and 0% for Ouda, Balami and Yankasa respectively. The sex prevalence for goats were 10.08% and 9.75% for bucks and does, while the breed prevalence rates were 50%, 33.3% and 9.28% for Sahelian, West African Dwarf and Red Sokoto goat respectively. A statistically significant association between Brucella infection and sex of sheep (p=0.037) was observed. However, there was no statistically significant association (p>0.05) between the infection and the small ruminant species, breeds and sex of goats. The study revealed presence of brucellosis in sheep and goats in the study area and the occupational hazards associated with the zoonotic disease.