Molecular characterization of putative virulence-associated genes in Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus isolates from livestock specimens

Abstract: In many regions of the world, brucellosis is an important zoonotic condition, In South Africa, it is a controlled animal disease, however in human it is only a reported condition. Brucella abortus is the principal pathogen, whereas Brucella melitensis has fewer predominant infections reported in animals and humans. Majority of South Africans still depend on livestock by-products such as milk for food. Multidrug resistance of Brucella which could be transmitted to humans through the food chain and close contact remains a big problem. The objectives of this study were to isolate and identify Brucella species recovered from raw milk, blood and lymph nodes of cattle, sheep and goats using culture and molecular profiling using PCR, to detect virulence genes of Brucella species and also determine the antibiogram of the isolates. Standard microbiological tests were used to identify Brucella spp. and all strains confirmed as belonging to the genus by genus-specific PCR primers...M.Sc. (Biotechnology