Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Cattle of Arapai Sub-County of Soroti, Uganda

Abstract

Brucellosis is a worldwide contagious and zoonotic bacterial infectious disease caused by Brucella. The aim of present study was therefore to establish the seroprevalence of brucellosis in Arapai, Soroti district, Uganda. A structured questionnaire administered to 72 farmers captured farmer characteristics, breed of animals reared, occurrence of abortion, risk of brucellosis infection to herd owners and family members. The Rose Bengal plate test was used to screen 227 cattle investigated for the presence of Brucella. A combination of communal grazing and tethering management system was mainly used by 77.8% respondents. The other systems of management included communal grazing used by only 13.9%, tethering only 5.6%, tethering and zero grazing 2.8%. Similarly, 55.6% of farmer respondents from the study area were experiencing incidences of abortion in their cattle herds. A significant proportion of respondents (30.6%) used raw milk daily immediately after milking while (61.1%) of the farmers used raw milk occasionally, and only 8.3% did not take raw milk. About 80% of respondents who had ever come in contact with aborted materials did not use protective materials. Among the total 72 surveyed farmers, only 33.3% of respondents had their animals vaccinated against brucellosis. Out of the total 227 screened cattle for brucellosis by using RBPT, 35 were positive for Brucellosis antigens giving an overall prevalence of 15.4% at confident level of 95% (C.I, 11% - 20%). The results showed that younger cattle were less infected than adults. Prevalence of Brucellosis was higher in females compared to males.