Abstract:
Brucellosis is an endemic disease in Zimbabwe caused by the genus Brucella. Brucella
seroprevalence was recently reported to be high in the wildlife-livestock interface in the
Chiredzi district and the neighbouring Gonarezhou National Park (GNP) in Zimbabwe, and
higher amongst communal cattle with an abortion history and access to grazing in GNP than
amongst communal cattle with no abortion history or access to grazing in GNP. The aim of
this study was to investigate Brucella species in brucellosis seropositive cattle in the Chiredzi
district with access to GNP using isolation and identification. Isolation of Brucella species from
whole blood (n = 18) and milk samples (n = 10) from seropositive animals with an abortion
history was based on the rose Bengal test (RBT) and enzyme-linked immunoassays (enzymelinked
immunosorbent assay [ELISA]; indirect ELISA and complement ELISA), using
microbiology and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods. Brucella abortus was cultured and
identified from blood and milk collected from seropositive cows in both communal areas. The
Brucella-specific 16-23S intergenic spacer (ITS) PCR and multiplex AMOS-PCR assays verified
the identification of the cultures. Our results confirmed that B. abortus is present in cattle
on communal farms in the Chiredzi district in Zimbabwe and might cause cattle abortions.
The need for implementing control measures and raising public awareness on zoonotic
transmission of brucellosis are recommended.
