Seroprevalence of brucellosis in livestock within three endemic regions of the country of Georgia

• Published in: Preventive veterinary medicine 2013-07, Vol.110 (3-4), p.554-557
• Main Authors: Mamisashvili, Eliso, Kracalik, Ian T., Onashvili, Tinatin, Kerdzevadze, Lela, Goginashvili, Ketevan, Tigilauri, Tamar, Donduashvili, Marina, Nikolaishvili, Marina, Beradze, Irma, Zakareishvili, Marina, Kokhreidze, Maka, Gelashvili, Makvala, Vepkhvadze, Nino, Rácz, S. Elizabeth, Elzer, Philip H., Nikolich, Mikeljon P., Blackburn, Jason K.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antibodies, Bacterial - blood; Bayes Theorem; Brucella abortus - classification; Brucella abortus - immunology; Brucella abortus - isolation & purification; Brucella melitensis - classification; Brucella melitensis - immunology; Brucella melitensis - isolation & purification; Brucellosis; Brucellosis - epidemiology; Brucellosis - immunology; Brucellosis - microbiology; Brucellosis, Bovine - epidemiology; Brucellosis, Bovine - immunology; Brucellosis, Bovine - microbiology; Cattle; Female; Georgia; Georgia (Republic) - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - epidemiology; Goat Diseases - microbiology; Goats; Livestock; Male; Milk - microbiology; Polymerase Chain Reaction - veterinary; Prevalence; Rose Bengal - chemistry; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Sheep; Sheep Diseases - epidemiology; Sheep Diseases - microbiology; True prevalence
• ISSN: 0167-5877; 1873-1716
• DOI: 10.1016/j.prevetmed.2012.12.005

Brucellosis is the one of most common livestock zoonoses in Georgia, resulting in significant economic losses. Livestock were sampled in three regions of Georgia (Kakheti, Kvemo Kartli, Imereti). Districts that historically reported high numbers of brucellosis related morbidity were selected for serological, bacteriological and molecular surveys. Surveying efforts yielded samples from 10,819 large and small ruminants. In total, 735 serological tests were positive on Rose Bengal and 33 bacterial isolates were recovered and identified as Brucella melitensis or Brucella abortus by microbiology and AMOS-PCR. A Bayesian framework was implemented to estimate the true prevalence of the disease given an imperfect diagnostic test. Regional posterior median true prevalence estimates ranged from 2.7% (95% CI: 1.4, 7.2) in Kvemo Kartli, 0.8% (95% CI: 0.0, 3.6) in Kakheti, to an estimate of 0.6% (95% CI: 0.0, 2.9) in Imereti. Accurate and efficient surveillance of brucellosis is not only of economic value, but also informs efforts to reduce the disease impact on the human population.