Integrated Molecular Detection and Epidemiological Investigation of Brucella abortus in Dairy Cattle and Farm Workers During a Brucellosis Outbreak.
11 affiliations
- 1Institute of EcoHealth, School of Public Health, Cheeloo College of Medicine, Shandong University, Jinan, People's Republic of China.
- 2State Key Laboratory for Animal Disease Control and Prevention, Key Laboratory of Veterinary Parasitology of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Veterinary Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Lanzhou, People's Republic of China.
- 3Institute of Zoology, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
- 4Department of Zoology, The Women University, Multan, Pakistan.
- 5Department of Zoology, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan.
- 6Department of Zoology, Bacha Khan University, Charsadda, Pakistan.
- 7Faculty of Veterinary Sciences, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, Pakistan.
- 8Hebei Key Laboratory of Animal Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Hebei Collaborative Innovation Center for Eco-Environment, Ministry of Education Key Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Life Sciences, Hebei Normal University, Shijiazhuang, People's Republic of China.
- 9Department of Biology, College of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
- 10Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Islamic University of Madinah, Madinah, Saudi Arabia.
- 11University of Bahr el Ghazal, Wau, South Sudan.
Abstract
Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella that can infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals. A recent brucellosis outbreak was reported at a dairy farm in the peri-urban region of Khanewal District, Punjab, Pakistan. In response, this study aimed to improve understanding of the dynamics of Brucella abortus infection in cattle and dairy farm workers in the local context. In November 2024, a total of 83 cattle, representing six different breeds, along with blood samples from 11 farm workers directly involved in handling these animals, were sampled. Relevant epidemiological data were also collected to support the investigation. To detect Brucella infection in cattle, both the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the IS711 gene were employed. All sampled cattle tested seropositive for Brucella antibodies by RBPT, indicating widespread exposure to Brucella. Molecular detection through partial IS711 sequence amplification revealed that 48% of the cattle and 45% of the farm workers (5 out of 11) tested positive for Brucella spp. Subsequent DNA sequencing and BLAST analysis confirmed the presence of B. abortus in both cattle and humans. The obtained IS711 sequences closely matched those previously reported in ruminants and humans in China. Data analysis further showed that cows were more susceptible to B. abortus infection compared to bulls (p = 0.01). However, no significant association was observed between infection status and cattle breed, age, presence or absence of ectoparasites, or history of abortion (for all p > 0.05). The present study provides evidence of B. abortus detection among cattle at the investigated dairy farm in Khanewal. The findings should be interpreted within the context of the studied farm, as the purposive sampling of a single dairy farm does not permit extrapolation to the wider cattle population of Khanewal District or Pakistan. Further multi-farm studies involving geographically diverse cattle populations are warranted to determine the broader occurrence and epidemiological pattern of B. abortus.
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BibTeX
@article{asif2026integrated,
title = {{Integrated Molecular Detection and Epidemiological Investigation of Brucella abortus in Dairy Cattle and Farm Workers During a Brucellosis Outbreak.}},
author = {Muhammad Asif and Muhammad Kashif Obaid and Muhammad Naeem and Hira Muqaddas and Shakir Ullah and Adil Khan and Nasir Mahmood and Qiaoyun Ren and Fatmah M Alqahtani and Musa A Said and Fakhreldeen Dabiellil and Furhan Iqbal},
journal = {Veterinary medicine and science},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1002/vms3.71329},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42998262},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Integrated Molecular Detection and Epidemiological Investigation of Brucella abortus in Dairy Cattle and Farm Workers During a Brucellosis Outbreak.
AU - Muhammad Asif
AU - Muhammad Kashif Obaid
AU - Muhammad Naeem
AU - Hira Muqaddas
AU - Shakir Ullah
AU - Adil Khan
AU - Nasir Mahmood
AU - Qiaoyun Ren
AU - Fatmah M Alqahtani
AU - Musa A Said
AU - Fakhreldeen Dabiellil
AU - Furhan Iqbal
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/01
JO - Veterinary medicine and science
DO - 10.1002/vms3.71329
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42998262
AB - Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic disease caused by bacteria belonging to the genus Brucella that can infect a wide range of domestic and wild animals. A recent brucellosis outbreak was reported at a dairy farm in the peri-urban region of Khanewal District, Punjab, Pakistan. In response, this study aimed to improve understanding of the dynamics of Brucella abortus infection in cattle and dairy farm workers in the local context. In November 2024, a total of 83 cattle, representing six different breeds, along with blood samples from 11 farm workers directly involved in handling these animals, were sampled. Relevant epidemiological data were also collected to support the investigation. To detect Brucella infection in cattle, both the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeting the IS711 gene were employed. All sampled cattle tested seropositive for Brucella antibodies by RBPT, indicating widespread exposure to Brucella. Molecular detection through partial IS711 sequence amplification revealed that 48% of the cattle and 45% of the farm workers (5 out of 11) tested positive for Brucella spp. Subsequent DNA sequencing and BLAST analysis confirmed the presence of B. abortus in both cattle and humans. The obtained IS711 sequences closely matched those previously reported in ruminants and humans in China. Data analysis further showed that cows were more susceptible to B. abortus infection compared to bulls (p = 0.01). However, no significant association was observed between infection status and cattle breed, age, presence or absence of ectoparasites, or history of abortion (for all p > 0.05). The present study provides evidence of B. abortus detection among cattle at the investigated dairy farm in Khanewal. The findings should be interpreted within the context of the studied farm, as the purposive sampling of a single dairy farm does not permit extrapolation to the wider cattle population of Khanewal District or Pakistan. Further multi-farm studies involving geographically diverse cattle populations are warranted to determine the broader occurrence and epidemiological pattern of B. abortus.
SN - 2053-1095
ER -