SEROPREVALENCE OF BRUCELLOSIS IN GOATS IN THREE DISTRICTS OF PANKSHIN LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF PLATEAU STATE, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of brucellosis in goats in three districts of Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau state, Nigeria. The three districts were Fier, Wokkos and Chip and in each district 3 villages were randomly selected. A total of 270 of blood samples were collected using a systematic sampling method, 90 samples from each district and 30 samples in each village. Samples were carefully labelled by location, sex and age. The samples were sent to the
Bacteriology laboratory of National Veterinary Research Institute (NVRI) Vom and subjected to Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) to identify the Brucella antigen. One-sample T-test statistics was used to analyze the data collected. Of the total 270 samples, the percentage of positive (11.85±1.45%) was significantly (p<0.05) lower than negative (88.15±1.45%). With regards to sex, the percentage of positive females (7.67±0.88 %) was significantly higher than males (3.00±0.58 %) while with regards to age, the percentage of positive goats from above 12 months old (8.67±1.45%) was significantly (p<0.05%) higher than from 0-12 months old (2.00±1.16%). It may be concluded that brucellosis is present in the three districts of Pankshin Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria. Therefore, preventive and control measures such as quarantine, controlled mating, vaccination and regular treatments with antibiotics are recommended.