Exposure to Brucella Species, Coxiella burnetii, and Trichinella Species in Recently Imported Camels from Sudan to Egypt: Possible Threats to Animal and Human Health

Ragab M Fereig; Amira M Mazeed; Ashraf A Abd El Tawab; Mohamed El-Diasty; Ahmed Elsayed; Raafat M Shaapan; Abdelbaset E Abdelbaset; Caroline F Frey; Bader S Alawfi; Sarah A Altwaim; Azzah S Alharbi; Gamal Wareth

doi:10.3390/pathogens13020179

Exposure to Brucella Species, Coxiella burnetii, and Trichinella Species in Recently Imported Camels from Sudan to Egypt: Possible Threats to Animal and Human Health

Pathogens. 2024 Feb 16;13(2):179. doi: 10.3390/pathogens13020179.

Authors

Ragab M Fereig¹, Amira M Mazeed², Ashraf A Abd El Tawab³, Mohamed El-Diasty⁴, Ahmed Elsayed⁵, Raafat M Shaapan⁶, Abdelbaset E Abdelbaset^{7

8}, Caroline F Frey⁹, Bader S Alawfi¹⁰, Sarah A Altwaim^{11

12}, Azzah S Alharbi^{11

12}, Gamal Wareth^{13

14}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Internal Medicine, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, South Valley University, Qena 83523, Egypt.
² Department of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Arish University, Arish 45516, Egypt.
³ Department of Bacteriology, Immunology, and Mycology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Benha University, Toukh 13736, Egypt.
⁴ Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Animal Health Research Institute-Mansoura Provincial Laboratory, (AHRI-Mansoura), Giza 12618, Egypt.
⁵ Agricultural Research Center (ARC), Animal Health Research Institute-Al Shalateen Provincial Laboratory (AHRI-Al Shalateen), Giza 12618, Egypt.
⁶ Department of Zoonoses, National Research Centre, 33 El-Tahrir Street, Dokki 12622, Egypt.
⁷ Laboratory of Parasitology, Graduate School of Infectious Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-0808, Japan.
⁸ Clinical Laboratory Diagnosis, Department of Animal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt.
⁹ Institute of Parasitology, Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology, Vetsuisse-Faculty, University of Bern, Länggassstrasse 122, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland.
¹⁰ Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Taibah University, Madinah 42353, Saudi Arabia.
¹¹ Department of Clinical Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 21589, Saudi Arabia.
¹² Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah 22252, Saudi Arabia.
¹³ Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Fredrich-Loeffler-Institut (FLI), 07743 Jena, Germany.
¹⁴ Institute of Infectious Diseases and Infection Control, Jena University Hospital, 07747 Jena, Germany.

Abstract

Brucellosis and coxiellosis/Q fever are bacterial infections caused by Brucella species and Coxiella burnetii, respectively; camels are highly susceptible to both pathogens. Trichinellosis is a parasitic infection caused by various Trichinella nematode species. Reportedly, camels are susceptible to experimental infection with Trichinella spp., but information on this potential host species is scarce. All three infections are of zoonotic nature and thus of great public health concern. The current study aimed to determine antibodies against the three pathogens in recently imported camels (n = 491) from Sudan at the two main ports for the entrance of camels into southern Egypt using commercial indirect ELISAs. Samples were collected in two sampling periods. The seropositivity rates of Brucella spp., C. burnetii, and Trichinella spp. were 3.5%, 4.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. Mixed seropositivity was found in 1% for Brucella spp. and C. burnetii. Marked differences were found between the two study sites and the two sampling periods for Brucella. A higher rate of seropositivity was recorded in the Red Sea/older samples that were collected between 2015 and 2016 (4.3%, 17/391; odds ratio = 9.4; p < 0.030) than in those collected in Aswan/recent samples that were collected between 2018 and 2021 (0/100). Concerning C. burnetii, samples collected during November and December 2015 had a significantly higher positivity rate than the other samples (13%, 13/100; OD = 4.8; p < 0.016). The same effect was observed for antibodies to Trichinella spp., with samples collected during November and December 2015 showing a higher positivity rate than the other samples (7%, 7/100; OD = 10.9; p < 0.001). This study provides valuable information on the seroprevalence of Brucella spp. and additional novel information on C. burnetii and Trichinella spp. in recently imported camels kept in quarantine before delivery to other Egyptian regions. This knowledge can be utilized to reduce health hazards and financial burdens attributable to brucellosis, Q fever, and trichinellosis in animals and humans in Egypt.

Keywords: Egypt; brucellosis; camel; dromedary; iELISA; serology.

Grants and funding

This research received no external funding.