Veterinary Science & Technology

Bovine brucellosis is a zoonosis known to be a major public health hazard of great economic importance worldwide. Its detection in cattle is frequently done using serological tests like Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive- Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (C-ELISA). Few studies have been conducted to compare the serological tests most commonly used to detect bovine brucellosis in Rwanda.

The study was conducted in Kigali city, the capital of Rwanda, to compare RBPT and C-ELISA test in detection of bovine brucellosis. Two thousands and seventeen (2017) cattle serum samples were collected, from 157 randomly selected farms, and were tested for bovine brucellosis using RBPT and C-ELISA.

The overall prevalence given by RBPT (2.03%) was greater than the prevalence given by C-ELISA (1.7%). The study revealed that even if the observed difference between prevalence given by RBPT and the prevalence given by C-ELISA was significant (p-value<0.05), the agreement between the two tests has been found excellent with a Kappa of 0.92.

The study has provided information on the agreement of the two serological tests commonly used to detect bovine brucellosis in Kigali. It is known that the agreement between two tests varies depending on the prevalence, thus there is a need for the study to be extended to the other provinces of Rwanda where the prevalence is probably different to the prevalence in Kigali.

We captured an injured immature Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca Savigny) on the outskirts of the city of Alvan (south of city of Shoush) in the Iranian southwestern province of Khuzestan in February 2014. The young bird had been leg-ringed at the nestling stage in Kazakhstan in June 2013 before setting off on its migration towards southern parts of Iran. The eaglet was suffering from a deep fracture in its left wing leading to an extensive necrotic wound, which was heavily infested by maggots (fly larvae). The examination of internal cephalopharyngeal skeleton and external morphological characters of the third-instar larvae, including posterior spiracles, led to the identification of the blow fly species of Calliphora vicina Robineau–Desvoidy. This is the first report of myiasis in a vulnerable wild bird species in Iran and the first recorded infestation of an Eastern Imperial Eagle by the facultative myiasis agent C. vicina in the world.