Situation of brucellosis in bovines at organized cattle farms belonging to three different states

Brucellosis has long been recognized as a disease of major economic importance in livestock production and a public health problem allover the world. Situation of brucellosis in bovines at organized cattle farms belonging to three different states was assessed. The screening for brucellosis of serum samples from animals submitted by different farms was carried out by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBPT) and serum tube agglutination test (STAT). Eight cattle farms were investigated, of which four belonged to the state government and four to the private sector. None of the animals in four state government cattle farms were detected positive for brucellosis whereas the rest four private cattle farms were positive for brucellosis. All the four Government farms free from brucellosis belonged to the state of Haryana, however, two private farms in this state were found positive for brucellosis. Of the remaining two brucellosis positive farms, one was located in Uttar Pradesh and other in Madhya Pradesh. An over all prevalence rate of brucellosis on cattle farms was observed to be 26.50% by ELISA, 20.47% by RBPT and 18.89% by STAT. Use of ELISA in comparison to RBPT and STAT for assessing the situation of brucellosis in cattle is advocated to have more fruitful results because chances of non-detection of an infected animal in ELISA are minimum.