Occurrence of Brucella virulence-associated genes isolated from cattle, sheep, and goats in selected municipalities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Brucella, the causative of brucellosis, has some potential virulence factors involved in Brucella replication and its strategies to circumvent the immune response. The Brucella species generally considered pathogenic for humans, in decreasing order of virulence, are Brucella melitensis, Brucella suis, and Brucella abortus. The objective of this study was to determine the occurrence of Brucella virulence-associated genes isolated from cattle, sheep, and goats in 4 municipalities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. A total of 130 isolates confirmed as B. abortus (62.3%) and B. melitensis (37.7%) in 4 municipalities were screened for the presence of the ManA, ManB, Omp25, Omp31 and ZnuA virulence-associated genes. Gene detection showed ManA (100%), Omp25 (100%) and Omp31 (34.6-76.9%) to be the highest genes detected while ManB (11.5-38.5%) and ZnuA (10.3-19.2%) were the lowest from all isolates in the 4 municipalities. The results of the present study showed that most Brucella isolates from this region have virulence factor genes (ManA, ManB, Omp25, Omp31 and ZnuA) in their genome that have been hypothesized to play a role in the pathogenesis of disease and this may be a cause of concern for human health. There is a need for implementing control measures and raising public awareness on the zoonotic transmission of brucellosis

PDF HTML