Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University of Tirana, Tirana, Albania.
Animal Health Laboratory, Food Safety and Veterinary Institute, Tirana, Albania.
PLoS One. 2020 Mar 5;15(3):e0229741. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0229741. eCollection 2020.
Brucellosis is a ubiquitous zoonotic disease globally. It is endemic among bovines, sheep, and goats in Albania. The national control and eradication programs for brucellosis has been applied on sheep and goat farms as well as large dairy cattle farms, i.e., those with more than ten milking cows. The current study aims at estimating the herd and average individual animal prevalence of brucellosis in the national beef cattle herds, the missing information that was essential to propose the most appropriate control measures for this sub-population. Rose Bengal Test (RBT), Fluorescence Polarization Assay (FPA), and Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) were used as serological tests and classical bacteriology for isolation. Results were also used to investigate the difference in sensitivity between the assays used.
In total, 655 animals from 38 beef cattle herds from six southern districts of Albania were sampled. Sera were tested using RBT, FPA, and ELISA. Fifteen positive cows and a bull from eight high-prevalence positive herds were slaughtered, and particular tissue samples were collected for bacteriology.
The overall herd seroprevalence in the tested beef cattle population was 55%, while the overall average within-herd prevalence (including only positive herds) was 38.3%, 42.7%, and 45.6% determined by the RBT, ELISA, and FPA, respectively. FPA was used for the first time in the diagnosis of bovine brucellosis in Albania, and its sensitivity was higher than RBT and ELISA. Three B. abortus strains were identified, two from the supra-mammary lymph node of two cows and one from the epididymis of a seropositive bull.
Brucellosis was highly prevalent in beef cattle in the southern part of Albania, and B. abortus was isolated from this subpopulation. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first statistically based survey of bovine brucellosis in beef herds in Albania. Using the FPA in parallel with other serological tests improved overall diagnostic sensitivity. Test and slaughter policy is not a rational approach for the control of brucellosis in beef cattle in Albania, and vaccination is only applicable, including strict control of the movement of animals.
布鲁氏菌病是一种在全球范围内普遍存在的人畜共患病。它在阿尔巴尼亚的牛、绵羊和山羊中流行。该国已经在绵羊和山羊养殖场以及大型奶牛养殖场（即拥有超过十头奶牛的养殖场）实施了布鲁氏菌病的国家控制和根除计划。本研究旨在估计全国肉牛群中布鲁氏菌病的畜群和个体动物流行率，这是为该亚群提出最合适的控制措施所必需的重要信息。虎红平板凝集试验（RBT）、荧光偏振试验（FPA）和酶联免疫吸附试验（ELISA）被用作血清学检测方法，而经典细菌学则用于分离。结果还用于研究所使用的检测方法之间的敏感性差异。
总共从阿尔巴尼亚六个南部地区的 38 个肉牛群中采集了 655 头动物。使用 RBT、FPA 和 ELISA 对血清进行检测。从八个高阳性率阳性牛群中屠宰了 15 头阳性奶牛和一头公牛，并采集了特定的组织样本进行细菌学检测。
在所检测的肉牛群体中，总畜群血清阳性率为 55%，而在仅包括阳性牛群的情况下，总群内流行率（包括仅阳性牛群）分别为 RBT、ELISA 和 FPA 确定的 38.3%、42.7%和 45.6%。FPA 是首次在阿尔巴尼亚用于诊断牛布鲁氏菌病，其敏感性高于 RBT 和 ELISA。从一头血清阳性公牛的附睾和两头奶牛的颌下淋巴结中分离到了三株流产布鲁氏菌。
在阿尔巴尼亚南部地区的肉牛中，布鲁氏菌病的流行率很高，并且从该亚群中分离到了流产布鲁氏菌。据我们所知，这是首次对阿尔巴尼亚肉牛群中牛布鲁氏菌病进行的基于统计学的调查。在平行使用 FPA 与其他血清学检测方法可提高整体诊断敏感性。在阿尔巴尼亚，检测和屠宰政策不是控制肉牛布鲁氏菌病的合理方法，而疫苗接种仅适用于包括严格控制动物流动的情况下。
