Molecular detection and geospatial distribution of Brucella infections in horses in Kano Metropolis, Kano State, Nigeria

Brucellosis is a major zoonotic disease that affects several domestic, wild and marine mammals, and man. It causes serious economic damage in livestock productivity, especially in developing countries, including Nigeria. The study aimed to determine the species of Brucella that infect horses and establish the spatial distribution of the infection in Kano, Nigeria. A total of 328 blood samples were collected from horses. Sera were collected from the samples and kept at -20 0C until tested. The sera were successively subjected to RBPT, SAT-EDTA and multiplex-PCR. Seventy-nine serum samples (24.0%) were positive for Brucella antibodies on RBPT. Out of the RBPT positive samples, 39 (49.4%) were also positive for SAT-EDTA. There was no difference between the results of the two tests (RBPT: p=0.4420; SAT-EDTA: p=0.124). Of the 39 SAT-EDTA positive sera, 32 (82.1%) were confirmed to be Brucella abortus. Fifteen of the 16 mares tested were positive for B. abortus while 73.9% of the stallion were positive. All horses in the age groups of 1-5 and 11-15 years were 100% positive, while 72.0% of the horses in the 6-10 year age group were also positive. The study showed 81.8 % detection rate of B. abortus using AMOS-PCR and that 15 (93.7%) of the female horses tested (16) had B. abortus while 17 (73.9%) of the 23 male horses tested had B. abortus.