Seroprevalence of brucellosis in different kinds of feline population in north-east of Iran

The objective of this survey was to assess the prevalence of brucellosis with focus on Brucella abortus and Brucella melletensis in different kinds of cats in north-east of Iran. Different kinds of cats included stray, pet, and cats which were located in dairy cattle herds tested. Blood sera of 48 (34.28%) stray, 42 (30%) pet, and 50 (35.71%) cats collected from 15 industrial dairy cattle herds. They were used for rapid and tube agglutination tests such as Rose Bengal, Wright, and 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME). The comparison among age, sex, weight, and lifestyle of cats with serological tests of brucellosis were examined statistically. Totally, eight (5.71%) cats were mild positive with low titer. Only two (1.42%) cats reacted in 2-ME. There was no statistically significant relationship between sex of cat (male vs female) and serological results (P = 0.07). However, comparison among different age groups revealed significant differences (p = 0.009). There were no significant differences between the infected cats collected from dairy cattle herds and stray cats, but the stray cats and pet cats showed the significant differences (p = 0.028). This survey showed that Brucella infection (1) mainly occurred in male and stray cats aged 1–2 years and (2) is transiently mild, and (3) negative brucellosis in pet cats represents optimal hygiene and health monitoring of these cats by the owners. So, stray cats can be a risk factor for brucellosis in human and animal populations in north-east of Iran; thus, strong precautions over stray cats are necessary.