Seroprevalence of antibodies to Chlamydophila abortus in small ruminants in some provinces in Syria

Abstract

Serological surveys of antibodies to Chlamydophila abortus in small ruminants were made in ten provinces located in different parts of Syria from November to December 2009. A total of 808 blood samples were randomly collected from sheep and goats, and subjected to serological analysis using Enzyme linked Immunosorbent Assay. The overall seroprevalence of C. abortus among all provinces, research stations and breeders' flocks were 9.3, 8.2 and 10.8%, respectively. The results showed high infection rate in provinces Hama, Daraa, Aleppo and Al-Qamishli (18, 13.5, 11.96 and 11.7%, respectively). The highest percentage of positive results was recorded in Hama (24%), followed by Homs (16%). The prevalence rates in sheep and goat research stations were 8.8 and 6.8%, respectively. The infection rate in research stations ranged between 0 and 19.2%, except in Jidrin station for sheep in Hama (42.5%), where the highest positive reactions were (43.6%), followed by Humeimeh station for goat in Aleppo and Soumakyat station for sheep in Daraa (12.8%). Research stations for sheep, Kaser al-Halabat and Mahasah, were C. abortus free. In breeders flocks, high infection rates were recorded in Daraa province (25%), followed by Al-Qamishli (14.8%) and Dayr ez Zawr (12%). High positive reactions were recorded in Aleppo and Dayr ez Zawr (16.7%) and Daraa (13.9%), but the highest rate was in Homs (30.6%). There was significant difference (χ² = 37.6, p < 0.01) between positive and negative results when comparing research stations and breeder flocks. In view of the results, a limited distribution of C. abortus was observed in the middle region (Hama and Homs), northern region (Aleppo), eastern region (Al-Raqqa, Al-Qamishli, Al-Hasakah and Dayr-azwr), and the southern region (Daraa), with marked statistically significant difference (χ² = 89.0, p < 0.0001) when the seroprevalence was compared among different provinces.

Keywords: Chlamydophilia abortus, seroprevalence, enzyme linked immunosorbent assay, Syria.