EPIDEMIOLOGICAL INVESTIGATION OF BRUCELLOSIS IN ONE HUMPED CAMELS (Camelus dromedarius) IN LAKE CHAD AREA OF BORNO STATE, NIGERIA

An epidemiological investigation of the one-humped camel (Camelus dromedarius) was carried out to determine the status of camel brucellosis in the Lake Chad area of Borno state. A total of five hundred and eleven (511) sera were collected from adult one-humped camels and tested by Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Microtitre Serum Agglutination Test (MSAT). Sixty two (12.13 per cent) of this samples tested positive by both RBPT and MSAT, out of which 23(4.5 per cent) were male and 39 (7.6 per cent) were female camels. There was no statistically significant association between sex and reaction to either of the serological tests P>0.05; OR=0.388-1.161. Two hundred and fifty seven (257) of the 511 sera collected were from slaughtered camels from abattoir while the remaining two hundred and fifty four (254) were from range camels. Thirty eight (14.8 per cent) of the 257 camels slaughtered in the abattoir and 24 (9.4 per cent) of those in the range were positive by both RBPT and MSAT, respectively. The statistical association was also not significant (P>0.05). Ten (3.9 per cent) and 14 (5.5 per cent) males and females, respectively were positive by both RBPT and MSAT, out of the 254 samples collected from range herds in the Lake Chad area of Borno state. Thirteen (5.05 per cent) of the 144 males from the abattoir samples were positive while 25 (9.7 per cent) of the 113 female were positive by both RBPT and MSAT. There was statistically significant association between positive serological reactions in female camels slaughtered in abattoir and those in herds in the range (OR=1.514-6.202; P<0.05). The overall prevalence of brucellosis among camels in Borno state was 12.13 per cent.