Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences

A case of porcine brucellosis at a farm in Izzi, Ebonyi State, Nigeria
Essienifiok S. Unanam¹, Yusuf M. Lekko^2*, Kingsley U. Ezema³ and John J. Gadzama⁴1Department of Veterinary Medicine, Surgery and Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria.
²Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
³Veterinary Teaching Hospital, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.
⁴Department of Veterinary Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maiduguri, Borno State, Nigeria.

Abstract
There was a complaint from a farm in Izzi, Ebonyi State, Nigeria that eighteen pregnant sows in a flock of 100 pigs experienced abortion storms in the third trimester of pregnancy and other clinical signs such as frank blood streaming from the nostrils of some of the pigs, delivery of weak piglets and still-births. Tentative clinical diagnoses of brucellosis, leptospirosis, listeriosis and campylobacteriosis were made. Two millilitre of blood was collected via the ear vein from 22 of the pigs; this was allowed to clot and serum was extracted from the clotted blood. The serum samples were stored at -20°C until needed for Brucella antibody detection. Sterile swab sticks were used to collect vaginal swab samples from 14 sows for bacteriological examination. The serum samples and vaginal swabs were submitted to the Bacteriology Unit of the Central Diagnostic Laboratory of the National Veterinary Research Institute Vom, Plateau State, Nigeria for further laboratory evaluation. Complement fixation test was carried out while MacConkey agar was used as both selective and differential media for bacterial culture. Results of the complement fixation test showed that six out of the 22 serum samples were positive for Brucella organism. Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus were also isolated from the samples, although these organisms have not been previously known to be associated with abortion in pigs. A definitive diagnosis of porcine brucellosis was reached based on the clinical signs manifested by the affected animals and the laboratory results. The Brucella positive pigs were culled and the affected farm was advised to depopulate, disinfect and re-stock with animals known to be free from the disease.

Keywords: Brucellosis; Swine; Complement fixation test; Piggery, Izzi Ebonyi State; Nigeria.

How to cite this article:
Unanam ES, Lekko YM, Ezema KU and Gadzama JJ (2023). A case of porcine brucellosis at a farm in Izzi, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. Journal of Veterinary and Applied Sciences, 13(2): 219 – 223.

*Correspondence: E-mail: ymlekko@unimaid.edu.ng Phone: +2347036410350