Assenga Justine A, Matemba Lucas E, Muller Shabani K, Malakalinga Joseph J, Kazwala Rudovick R
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Public Health, Sokoine University of Agriculture, P. O. Box 3021, Morogoro, Tanzania.
National Institute for Medical Research, P. O. Box 9653, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.
BMC Vet Res. 2015 Aug 8;11:189. doi: 10.1186/s12917-015-0504-8.
Brucellosis is a zoonosis of public health importance worldwide. In Tanzania, the disease is underreported due to insufficient awareness, inadequate diagnostic protocols, including lack of appropriate reagents for diagnosis. Livestock and wildlife are considered potential sources of infection to humans; however, the role played by these carriers in the epidemiology of the disease in the ecosystems in Tanzania is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in humans, wildlife and livestock; and molecular prevalence of Brucella spp in cattle and goats in the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem.
Anti-Brucella antibodies were detected in humans at 0.6 % (95 % CI: 0.1, 2.1 %); cattle at 6.8 % (95 % CI: 5.4, 8.5 %), goats at 1.6 % (95 % CI: 0.4, 4.1 %) and buffaloes at 7.9 % (95 % CI: 1.7, 21.4 %). One of the two sampled lions tested positive. Cattle had a significantly higher prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies as compared to goats (P < 0.05). A significantly higher seroprevalence was found in female than in male cattle and in adult than in young cattle (P < 0.05). There was an agreement of 95 and 89 % in cattle and goats, respectively, for the Rose Bengal plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (c-ELISA) in detecting Brucella infection. Eight (3.5 %) out of 231 milk samples tested were positive for Brucella spp on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and Brucella abortus biovar 1 was detected in cattle milk. However, no Brucella spp were detected in goat milk.
This study has shown the presence of anti- Brucella antibodies in humans, livestock, and wildlife in the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem. Transmission of the infection between wildlife, livestock and humans is likely to continue due to increasing human activities in the human wildlife interface. This information is an important contribution to public health policy development in the human wildlife interface of the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem.
布鲁氏菌病是一种在全球范围内具有公共卫生重要性的人畜共患病。在坦桑尼亚，由于认识不足、诊断方案不完善，包括缺乏合适的诊断试剂，该疾病报告不足。家畜和野生动物被认为是人类潜在的感染源；然而，这些宿主在坦桑尼亚生态系统中该疾病流行病学中所起的作用尚未完全明了。本研究的目的是确定人类、野生动物和家畜中抗布鲁氏菌抗体的流行情况；以及卡塔维-鲁夸生态系统中牛和山羊布鲁氏菌属的分子流行情况。
在人类中检测到抗布鲁氏菌抗体的比例为0.6%（95%置信区间：0.1，2.1%）；牛为6.8%（95%置信区间：5.4，8.5%），山羊为1.6%（95%置信区间：0.4，4.1%），水牛为7.9%（95%置信区间：1.7，21.4%）。两只采样狮子中有一只检测呈阳性。与山羊相比，牛的抗布鲁氏菌抗体流行率显著更高（P < 0.05）。母牛的血清阳性率显著高于公牛，成年牛的血清阳性率显著高于幼年牛（P < 0.05）。在检测布鲁氏菌感染方面，牛和山羊的虎红平板凝集试验（RBPT）和竞争酶联免疫吸附测定（c-ELISA）的一致性分别为95%和89%。在231份牛奶样本中，有8份（3.5%）经聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测布鲁氏菌属呈阳性，在牛奶中检测到牛流产布鲁氏菌生物变种1。然而，在山羊奶中未检测到布鲁氏菌属。
本研究表明卡塔维-鲁夸生态系统中的人类、家畜和野生动物中存在抗布鲁氏菌抗体。由于人类与野生动物界面处人类活动的增加，野生动物、家畜和人类之间的感染传播可能会持续。这一信息对卡塔维-鲁夸生态系统人类与野生动物界面的公共卫生政策制定具有重要贡献。
