Purpose: To detect
Brucella melitensis
in the milk of reared sheep and goats from Isfahan and Shahrekord regions, Iran.
Methods: A total of 225 milk samples (sheep = 125; goat = 100) were collected from Isfahan and Shahrekord regions, Central Iran. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the presence of
B. melitensis in the milk following standard procedures.
Results: From 225 milk samples, 20 (8.9 %) were positive for
B. melitensis. Out of 125 sheep milk, 12 (9.6 %) had
B. melitensis, and of these, 8 (66.6 %) were milk collected from Shahrekord and 4 (33.3 %) from Isfahan region. On the other hand, out of 100 goat milk samples, 18 (18 %) were positive for
B. melitensis, out of which 10 (55.5 %) were from Shahrekord and 8 (44.4 %) from Isfahan.
Conclusion: The findings show that
B. melitensis is present in a significant proportion of caprine and ovine milk in a section of Iran.
