Investigations on non Brucella Abortifacients in Small Ruminants in Saudi Arabia with Emphasis on Zoonotic Causes

摘要

A total of 3996 serum samples was collected from aborted ewes and does in 11 flocks at fivegovernorates of Al-Kaseem area, KSA during 2006-2007. Only 2411/3996 (60.33%) were brucella seropositive,while 1585/3996 (39.7%) animals were brucella sero-negative. 278 out of the 1585 animals (17.53%) were positivefor one or both of Toxoplasma gondii and Chlamydophila abortus by ( ELISA on blood samples) andconfirmed by Polymerase Chain Reaction technique( placenta and fetal tissues). T. gondii and C. abortusplayed definite important role in ovine and caprine abortion, with an overall respective incidence of 12.48 and9.07% with high possibilities for animal's reproductive disorders and zoonotic hazards. Mixed infection withboth diseases was noticed in some animals (4.03%). It was concluded that although Brucella is the majorabortifacient agent in small ruminants in KSA, also other pathogens were of great importance and should befollowed in diagnosis and control.