Conventional and Molecular Identification of Brucella spp. in Different Farm Animals from Different Rural Areas in Wasit Province, Iraq

Abstract

The present study was conducted to identify the occurrence of Brucella spp. in different farm animals from different rural areas of Wasit Province, Iraq. The study involved in the sampling of 165 blood samples from 81 cows, 50 buffalos, 23 sheep, and 11 goats. These samples (5 ml/each) were subjected to Rose Bengal test (RBT), regular bacterial cultivation and identification, positive-RBT-dependent real-time PCR (RT-PCR), and cultivation-dependent conventional 16S rRNA gen-and B5/B4 gene-based PCR, which were followed by a phylogenetic investigation utilizing partial gene sequencing. The results of the RBT revealed the presence of Brucella antibodies in 14 animals, which were distributed as 5 (6.2%), 1 (2%), 3 (13.04%), and 2 (18.2%), respectively. The findings showed significant (p<0.05) correlation of infection with age, sex, and geographical areas in all animals. The cultivation demonstrated the presence of Brucella spp. in 6 (42.9%) of the RBT positive samples, which were confirmed in RT-PCR and conventional PCRs. The phylogenetic work revealed close similarity with isolates from India, Egypt, China, and USA. The present study results shows that Brucella spp. was present in cows, buffalos, sheep, and goats, which might be considered as important infection sources to spread the infection to different animal herds and areas.