Seroprevalence of brucellosis in different kinds of feline population in north-east of Iran.

The objective of this survey was to assess the prevalence of brucellosis with focus on Brucella abortus and Brucella melletensis in different kinds of cats in north-east of Iran. Different kinds of cats included stray, pet, and cats which were located in dairy cattle herds tested. Blood sera of 48 (34.28%) stray, 42 (30%) pet, and 50 (35.71%) cats collected from 15 industrial dairy cattle herds. They were used for rapid and tube agglutination tests such as Rose Bengal, Wright, and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME). The comparison among age, sex, weight, and lifestyle of cats with serological tests of brucellosis were examined statistically. Totally, eight (5.71%) cats were mild positive with low titer. Only two (1.42%) cats reacted in 2-ME. There was no statistically significant relationship between sex of cat (male vs female) and serological results (P = 0.07). However, comparison among different age groups revealed significant differences (p = 0.009). There were no significant differences between the infected cats collected from dairy cattle herds and stray cats, but the stray cats and pet cats showed the significant differences (p = 0.028). This survey showed that Brucella infection (1) mainly occurred in male and stray cats aged 1-2 years and (2) is transiently mild, and (3) negative brucellosis in pet cats represents optimal hygiene and health monitoring of these cats by the owners. So, stray cats can be a risk factor for brucellosis in human and animal populations in north-east of Iran; thus, strong precautions over stray cats are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]