Abstract

This study is designed to determine the prevalence rate of brucellosis in both sheep for export and local consumption ones. Brucellosis was studied in 404 heads of sheep in Khartoum State, Sudan. 300 heads of them were prepared for export and 104 were for slaughter for local consumption. Rose bengal plate test (RBPT), serum agglutination test (SAT) and competitive enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA) were used in the study. The overall prevalence was 3 (0.74%) by the RBPT and SAT and there were no serum samples positive by cELISA as confirmatory test. The prevalence rate was 3 (1.0%) in sheep intended for export and no positive samples found in the sheep of local consumption. According to the sex, the prevalence of the disease was 0.85% in males and no positive sample observed in females. There were no clinical signs of sheep brucellosis in all animals of the study samples although there were serologically positive samples. This study confirms the presence of sheep brucellosis in low rate which requires more attention and effort to implement procedures and regulation to eradicate the disease in Sudan.

Key words: Brucellosis, sheep, export, Sudan.