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ABSTRACT
In this study, milk samples were collected from 109 dairy cows to detect antibodies against Brucella (B.) using Milk Ring Test (MRT). Overall, 18.35% (n=20/109) of the milk samples were positive by MRT. The cows were divided into three groups based on lactation number viz., 1st, 2nd to 4th and ≥5th lactations; the prevalence of brucellosis in the groups were found to be 0.92% (n=1/109), 15.60% (n=17/109) and 1.83% (n=2/109), respectively. Considering simplicity and cost effectiveness, the MRT can be used for the preliminary screening of B. abortus infection especially in single cow herds.
Keywords:
Brucellosis, cows, diagnosis, milk ring test, zoonosis
Received: 05 March 2014,
Accepted: 30 March 2014,
Revised: 14 March 2014,
Published online: 07 April 2014.
INTRODUCTION
Brucellosis is primarily a disease of dairy cows causing economic losses to the livelihoods of many farmers around the world. In recent years, the cases of bovine brucellosis have been increased in India, possibly due to increased trade and rapid movement of livestock. Despite of various preventive and control measures being followed in India, there is still a high potential for the transmission and spread of B. abortus due to its widespread prevalence (Renukaradhya et al., 2002). Further, the risk of acquiring infection from unpasteurized milk is a major cause as raw milk is traditionally consumed in India where the hygienic aspects are not always sufficiently considered (Lingathurai and Vellathurai, 2010).
A number of serological tests are widely used for the diagnosis of brucellosis because infected cattle may or may not produce all antibody types in detectable levels. The MRT, first described in Germany by Fleischhauer (1937), is used as a routine periodic test for brucellosis free herds and for identifying infected herds. The MRT is an agglutination test conducted on fresh milk collected from dairy cattle, but it does not work on pasteurized or homogenized milk (Fleischhauer, 1937). The MRT, which detects IgM and IgA antibodies bound to fat globules, may have wide acceptability as it is cost effective, easy to perform and can cover a large population in a short time (Cadmus et al., 2008).
Besides, the MRT is considered as an ideal method for detecting infected herds and for diagnosis of brucellosis in individual animals (Noriello, 2004) though it is...