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Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test

Received: 27 November 2025     Accepted: 12 December 2025     Published: 7 January 2026
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Abstract

Dogs may acquire and transmit various Brucella spp., but their role in the epidemiology of brucellosis in Sudan is poorly characterized. This study evaluated serological evidence of Brucella exposure among two management groups of foreign-breed dogs in Khartoum State. 77 mature dogs were sampled: 45 Police-Kenneled Dogs (PKD) and 32 Citizen-Owned Dogs (COD). Whole blood was collected by venipuncture, sera separated, and screened for anti-Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and a modified RBPT protocol. Data were summarized with frequencies and percentages; associations between management type or sex and serostatus were tested with chi-square (α = 0.05). 61 out of the 77 dogs (79.2%)were tested positive by RBPT. Seropositivity was markedly higher in PKD (44/45; 97.8%) than in COD (17/32; 53.1%). The association between dog management and RBPT serostatus was highly significant (χ² = 22.652, df = 1, p < 0.001). No significant difference in seropositivity was observed between males and females (78.1% versus 80.0%, χ² = 0.040, p = 0.842). The findings reveal substantial serological evidence of Brucella exposure in the sampled population, particularly among police-housed dogs. Because RBPT detects antibodies to smooth LPS antigens and cross-reactivity or non- Brucella canis infections are possible.

Published in Animal and Veterinary Sciences (Volume 14, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12
Page(s) 12-16
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2026. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Brucellosis, Brucella, Dog, Sudan, Rose Bengal

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    E., H. O., Mohamed, A. A. H. E. A., Osman, K. A. A., Ali, L. Y. M., Abdelrahman, S. S. M., et al. (2026). Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test. Animal and Veterinary Sciences, 14(1), 12-16. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12

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    ACS Style

    E., H. O.; Mohamed, A. A. H. E. A.; Osman, K. A. A.; Ali, L. Y. M.; Abdelrahman, S. S. M., et al. Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test. Anim. Vet. Sci. 2026, 14(1), 12-16. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12

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    AMA Style

    E. HO, Mohamed AAHEA, Osman KAA, Ali LYM, Abdelrahman SSM, et al. Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test. Anim Vet Sci. 2026;14(1):12-16. doi: 10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12

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  • @article{10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12,
      author = {Hind Osman E. and Abd Al Hafeez Essa Abdalla Mohamed and Khalid Altayb Abdalla Osman and Lodan Yousif Mohamed Ali and Sara Salah Makki Abdelrahman and Weaam Mohammed Zakaria Adam and Yathrib Abdalla Mohammed Albasheer and Yousra Mohamed Elhasan Hussein Mohammed},
      title = {Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test},
      journal = {Animal and Veterinary Sciences},
      volume = {14},
      number = {1},
      pages = {12-16},
      doi = {10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.avs.20261401.12},
      abstract = {Dogs may acquire and transmit various Brucella spp., but their role in the epidemiology of brucellosis in Sudan is poorly characterized. This study evaluated serological evidence of Brucella exposure among two management groups of foreign-breed dogs in Khartoum State. 77 mature dogs were sampled: 45 Police-Kenneled Dogs (PKD) and 32 Citizen-Owned Dogs (COD). Whole blood was collected by venipuncture, sera separated, and screened for anti-Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and a modified RBPT protocol. Data were summarized with frequencies and percentages; associations between management type or sex and serostatus were tested with chi-square (α = 0.05). 61 out of the 77 dogs (79.2%)were tested positive by RBPT. Seropositivity was markedly higher in PKD (44/45; 97.8%) than in COD (17/32; 53.1%). The association between dog management and RBPT serostatus was highly significant (χ² = 22.652, df = 1, p Brucella exposure in the sampled population, particularly among police-housed dogs. Because RBPT detects antibodies to smooth LPS antigens and cross-reactivity or non- Brucella canis infections are possible.},
     year = {2026}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in Foreign-breed Police-Kennel Dogs and Citizen-owned Dogs in Khartoum State-Sudan, Using the Rose Bengal Test
    AU  - Hind Osman E.
    AU  - Abd Al Hafeez Essa Abdalla Mohamed
    AU  - Khalid Altayb Abdalla Osman
    AU  - Lodan Yousif Mohamed Ali
    AU  - Sara Salah Makki Abdelrahman
    AU  - Weaam Mohammed Zakaria Adam
    AU  - Yathrib Abdalla Mohammed Albasheer
    AU  - Yousra Mohamed Elhasan Hussein Mohammed
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12
    T2  - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
    JF  - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
    JO  - Animal and Veterinary Sciences
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    EP  - 16
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5850
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.avs.20261401.12
    AB  - Dogs may acquire and transmit various Brucella spp., but their role in the epidemiology of brucellosis in Sudan is poorly characterized. This study evaluated serological evidence of Brucella exposure among two management groups of foreign-breed dogs in Khartoum State. 77 mature dogs were sampled: 45 Police-Kenneled Dogs (PKD) and 32 Citizen-Owned Dogs (COD). Whole blood was collected by venipuncture, sera separated, and screened for anti-Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and a modified RBPT protocol. Data were summarized with frequencies and percentages; associations between management type or sex and serostatus were tested with chi-square (α = 0.05). 61 out of the 77 dogs (79.2%)were tested positive by RBPT. Seropositivity was markedly higher in PKD (44/45; 97.8%) than in COD (17/32; 53.1%). The association between dog management and RBPT serostatus was highly significant (χ² = 22.652, df = 1, p Brucella exposure in the sampled population, particularly among police-housed dogs. Because RBPT detects antibodies to smooth LPS antigens and cross-reactivity or non- Brucella canis infections are possible.
    VL  - 14
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

  • College of Veterinary Medicine, Sudan University of Science and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan

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