Seroprevalence of human brucellosis in selected sites of Central Oromia, Ethiopia.

Brucellosis is one of the most neglected zoonotic diseases in the world. It affects all age groups and both sexes. A cross-sectional study was conducted from December 2019 to May 2020 to estimate the seroprevalence and assess the potential risk factors of brucellosis among dairy cow owners and dairy farmworkers, and assess their knowledge, attitudes, and practices in selected sites in the central highlands of Oromia, Ethiopia. A structured interview question was administered to 284 respondents, and only 166 of them volunteered to give a blood sample. Most respondents had limited knowledge of brucellosis (93.3%), zoonotic diseases transmitted by handling animal delivery (88%), and consuming raw milk and other animal products (90.0%). Accordingly, 149 blood samples from animal owners and 17 farmworkers were collected for serological testing. The serum samples collected were initially screened using the Rose Bengal Plate test, and the Complement Fixation test was used as a confirmatory test. The overall seroprevalence of zoonotic brucellosis was 1.2% (95%CI: 0.32-4.27). There was a statistically significant association of human brucellosis with human housing (OR = 1.8, p = 0.002), contact with aborted fetus (OR = 21.19, p = 0.017), drinking raw milk from non-aborted (OR = 24.99, p = 0.012), aborted (OR = 5.72, 0.019), and retained fetal membrane (OR = 4.22, p = 0.029) cows. In conclusion, the present study revealed that the seroprevalence of brucellosis in the study area was low. Public awareness among animal owners, farm and animal health workers on the transmission and health hazards of brucellosis needs to be addressed through community training. Implementing one health approach between veterinary and medical health professionals must be strengthened.

Prevalence of asymptomatic visceral leishmaniasis in human and dog, Benishangul Gumuz regional state, Western Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: The Benishangul-Gumuz region is an important development corridor in Ethiopia. Large-scale projects such as the Great Renaissance Dam, mining and agriculture have entailed huge environmental modifications and settlement pattern changes. There is no detailed epidemiological information on visceral leishmaniasis (VL) in the region. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the epidemiology and risk factors associated with Leishmania infection. A leishmanin skin test (LST) was done for 1342 participants, and for 253 of them rK39 and DAT were carried out. Thirty-six dogs owned by households with LST-positive member(s) were rK39 and DAT tested. A pretested questionnaire was used to capture individual and household characteristics. RESULTS: Of the 89.2% (1197/1342) who availed themselves of the LST reading, 6.0% were positive. The rk39 and DAT positivity among the 253 tested were 3.2% and 5.9%, respectively. In dogs, positivity rates by rK39 and DAT were 13.9% and 5.6%, respectively. Of the household and individual risk factors, presence of a dog in the household (P = 0.005), male sex (0.003), residence woreda (0.000) and occupation (0.023) showed a strong positive association with LST positivity. Individuals who lived in households that had dogs were 2.6 times more likely to be LST positive (AOR = 2.6; 95% CI = 1.54, 4.40). Being female decreased the probability of being LST positive by 0.38 times (AOR = 0.38; 95% CI = 0.20, 0.72). People living in Guba and Kurmuk had 4.7 (AOR = 4.74, 95% CI 1.83, 12.31) and 5.9 (AOR = 5.85, 95% CI 2.27, 15.09) times more risk of being infected. CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the presence of active VL transmission in the areas. Thus, we underline the need to establish the responsible vector(s) and reservoir(s) for comprehensive early containment plans to prevent potentially harmful public health and economic consequences.