Abortions and seroprevalence of brucellosis and chlamydiosis in goats in the Northern area of Morocco

In order to determine the importance of abortions and the seroprevalence of two abortive infections namely brucellosis and chlamydiosis in goats in the Northern area of Morocco, a survey was carried out in 11 goat herds and 5 slaughter houses from the provinces Chefchaouene and Tetouan. A total of 374 serums was collected from slaughtered goats. In herds, 26 and 55 samples were collected from goats with and without history of abortion, respectively. Screening for brucellosis was conducted using the Card-test and for chlamydiosis using the micro- method of the complement fixation test. Mean abortion rate in surveyed herds was 25%. All tested sera were negative for brucellosis. However, chlamydisois was found to be prevalent with a mean prevalence rate of 14.8%. A prevalence of 19.2% was found in aborting goats against 12.7% in non aborting ones. The seroprevalence in adult-goats sampled and tested in slaughterhouses was found to be of 16.9%.

Keywords: Goats - Abortion - Brucellosis - Chlamydiosis - Chefchaouene - Tetouan - Morocco