School of Veterinary Medicine, Hawassa University, Hawassa, Ethiopia.
Acta Vet Scand. 2011 Apr 7;53(1):24. doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-53-24.
Cattle brucellosis has significant economic and zoonotic implication for the rural communities in Ethiopia in consequence of their traditional life styles, feeding habits and disease patterns. Hence, knowledge of brucellosis occurrence in traditional livestock husbandry practice has considerable importance in reducing the economic and public health impacts of the disease.
A total of 1623 cattle sera were serially tested using the rose Bengal test as screening and complement fixation test as confirmatory tests. The Stata survey command was used to establish prevalences for the overall and individual variables, while potential risk factors for seropositivity were analyzed using a multivariable logistic regression analysis.
The results showed that 3.5% (95% CI = 2.4, 4.5%) of the animals and 26.1% (95% CI = 18.6, 33.7) of the herds tested had antibodies against Brucella species. Village level seroprevalence ranged from 0% to 100%. A higher seroprevalence was observed in pastoral system than mixed farming although this variable was not significant in the final model. The final logistic regression model identified herd size; with large (odd ratio (OR) = 8.0, 95% CI = 1.9, 33.6) and medium herds (OR = 8.1, 95% CI = 1.9, 34.2) showing higher risk of Brucella infection when compared to small herds. Similarly, the odds of Brucella infection was higher in cattle aged above 4 years when compared to age groups of 1-2 (OR = 5.4, 2.1, 12.9) and 3-4 years (OR = 3.1, 95% CI = 1.0, 9.6). Herd level analysis of the risk factors revealed that large and medium herds as well as herds kept with multiple livestock species were at higher risk of acquiring Brucella infection. Brucellosis in traditional livestock husbandry practices certainly poses a zoonotic risk to the public, in consequence of raw milk consumption, close contact with animals and provision of assistance during parturition. Due to lack of diagnostic facilities and information on its occurrence, human brucellosis is most likely misdiagnosed for other febrile diseases prevailing in the areas and treated empirically.
The results of this study demonstrated that bovine brucellosis is widely prevalent in the study areas particularly in pastoral production system. Hence, the study suggests the need for implementing control measures and raising public awareness on prevention methods of brucellosis.
由于埃塞俄比亚农村社区的传统生活方式、饲养习惯和疾病模式，牛布鲁氏菌病对农村社区具有重大的经济和人畜共患病意义。因此，了解传统畜牧业中布鲁氏菌病的发生情况，对于减轻疾病的经济和公共卫生影响具有重要意义。
使用虎红平板试验作为筛查，补体结合试验作为确认试验，对 1623 份牛血清进行连续检测。使用 Stata 调查命令确定总体和个体变量的流行率，同时使用多变量逻辑回归分析分析血清阳性的潜在危险因素。
结果显示，3.5%（95%CI=2.4，4.5%）的动物和 26.1%（95%CI=18.6，33.7）的畜群检测出抗布鲁氏菌属抗体。村一级的血清阳性率从 0%到 100%不等。放牧系统的血清阳性率高于混合农业，尽管这一变量在最终模型中并不显著。最终的逻辑回归模型确定了畜群规模；与小畜群相比，大畜群（比值比（OR）=8.0，95%CI=1.9，33.6）和中畜群（OR=8.1，95%CI=1.9，34.2）更有可能感染布鲁氏菌。同样，与 1-2 岁（OR=5.4，2.1，12.9）和 3-4 岁（OR=3.1，95%CI=1.0，9.6）年龄组相比，4 岁以上的牛感染布鲁氏菌的风险更高。畜群水平的危险因素分析表明，大畜群和中畜群以及饲养多种牲畜的畜群感染布鲁氏菌的风险更高。由于缺乏诊断设施和有关其发生情况的信息，人类布鲁氏菌病很可能被误诊为流行于该地区的其他发热性疾病，并进行经验性治疗。
本研究结果表明，在研究地区，牛布鲁氏菌病广泛流行，特别是在放牧生产系统中。因此，本研究建议需要实施控制措施，并提高公众对布鲁氏菌病预防方法的认识。
