Acknowledgements:
The authors would like to thank Dr Rebekah Thompson , Royal Holloway, University of London, for reviewing the English language and proof reading of the manuscript.
This study was partially funded by a research project ‘Epidemiological and Socio-economic Studies on Abortion and Reproductive Failure Associated with Brucellosis in Ruminants and Assessing Risks at the Human-animal Interface in the Nile Delta Region ‘funded by Kafrelsheikh University, Egypt, grant number KFSU–3–13–04. The authors would like to thank all experts from the General Organization of Veterinary Services (GOVS) and the Department of Brucellosis Research, Animal Health Research Institute (AHRI) who provided useful information along the development of this study.