title: A study on the epidemiology of brucellosis in Punjab (India) using Survey Toolbox.
abstract: A random survey was conducted to study the epidemiology of brucellosis in Punjab (India), using the 'Survey Toolbox' sampling software. A two-stage sampling procedure was adopted: in the first stage, villages were selected, and in the second the selection of animals was made. In all, 52 villages were selected randomly from a sampling frame of all the villages of Punjab. The total number of animals in these villages was 18,644, out of which 973 animals (approximately 5%) belonging to various owners were randomly selected. Serum samples collected from the animals were screened for Brucella antibodies by an avidinbiotin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, which showed the apparent overall prevalence of brucellosis to be 12.09% (true prevalence, 11.23%). The prevalence varied from a low of 0% to a high of 24.3% in various districts. Higher variance (0.08) was noted within villages than between different villages (0.03). The prevalence rates among buffaloes and cattle were 13.4% and 9.9%, respectively. The seroprevalence of brucellosis was found to be significantly higher (chi square = 24.50, p < 0.001) in animals with a history of abortion (33.87%) than in those without such a history (11.63%).
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Veterinary Medicine, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana 141004, India.
authors.forename: N K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Dhand
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gumber
authors.forename: B B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.lastname: Aradhana
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Bali
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: D R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Sharma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Sandhu
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002007:Brucellosis, Bovine / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002417:Cattle; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012984:Software
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial