Abstract:
A cross-sectional study was carried out from October 2008- March 2009 to determine
the sero-prevalence of bovine brucellosis in four districts of Jijjiga Zone, eastern
Ethiopia. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select the four districts
and nine peasant associations (PAs). A total of 435 blood samples were collected
from cattle of 6 or more months of age with no history of previous vaccination
against brucellosis. All serum samples were initially screened by Rose-BengalPlate Test (RBPT) and those positive reactors to RBPT (n=8) were further tested
by complement fixation test (CFT) for confirmation. Out of the 8 RBPT positive
sera 6 were found to be positive to CFT. Accordingly, the overall seroprevalence of
bovine brucellosis in Jijjiga Zone was 1.38% (6/435). The seroprevalence of bovine
brucellosis in the four districts namely Awbare, Harshi, Kebribayah and Fafan
districtes were 0.78%, 2.91%, 2.06% and 0%, respectively. Statistically there is
no significant deference among the four districts (χ2 = 3.37, df = 3, P = 0.268). The
study also revealed absence of significant statistical variation in the seroprevalence
of brucellosis in different age and sex groups of the study animals (P > 0.05). Result
of this study showed that the seroprevalence of bovine brucellosis in the study
area is low. However, it is highly likely that the disease spreads in unaffected
animals and herds given the extensive production system prevailing in the area
which may allow contact of animals during grazing and at watering points. The
public in general and high risk group in particular should be made aware of the
zoonotic importance of bovine brucellosis.
