Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, animal products or consumption of infected dairy products. Brucella infection during pregnancy is of special interest due to association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study determined the seroprevalence and factors associated with Brucella infection among pregnant women around the human-wildlife-livestock interface area in Ngorongoro ecosystem, Northern Tanzania. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2018 at six health facilities that provide antenatal services. Pregnant women receiving antenatal care were invited to participate. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in addition to behavior and practices related to the occurrence of human brucellosis. The presence of serum immunoglobulin against Brucella was determined using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). The positive samples were further assayed for the presence of IgG and IgM using The enzyme-linkedimmunosorbent assay. Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the variables associated with Brucella seropositivity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors independently associations with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment for other explanatory variables. Results: A total of 313 participants were enrolled in the study. The overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection was 10.9% (34/313) determined by Rose Bengal plate test. Of 34 positive individuals, 27(79.4%) and 8(23.5%) were positive in the ELISA specific for IgG and IgM Brucella antibodies respectively. Regular contact with manure (AOR 3.16, 95%CI 1.27-7.83) and preference for animal fresh milk (AOR 3.80, 95% CI 1.23-11.69), raw meat (AOR 2.58, 95% CI 1.14-5.81) and raw animal blood (AOR 2.71, 95% CI 1.15-6.35) increased the odds of being Brucella seropositive. Contact with the animal placenta were not associated with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment.

Background Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to human through contact with infected animals, animal products or consumption of infected dairy products. Infection during pregnancy is of special interest due to associated adverse pregnancy outcome. This study determined the sero-prevalence and factors associated with Brucella infection among pregnant women around human-wildlife-livestock interface area in Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Northern Tanzania. Methods Pregnant women receiving antenatal care were invited to participate in a cross sectional study between April and May 2018. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in addition to behavior and practices related to human brucellosis. Presence of serum immunoglobulin against Brucella was determined using Rose Bengal Plate Test. The positive samples were further assayed for presence of IgG and IgM using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20. Results The overall Sero-prevalence of Brucella infection was 10.9%. Of 34 sero-positive individuals, 27(79.4%) had IgG antibodies while 8(23.5%) had IgM antibodies indicating 2.6% (8/313) recent infection. Regular contact with manure (OR 3.59, 95% CI 1.19 – 10.80, p = 0.023), consumption of raw milk (OR 3.58, 95% CI 1.12–11.39, p = 0.031), raw meat (OR 3.07, 95% CI 1.28 – 7.35, p = 0.012) and raw blood (OR 3.16, 95% CI 1.25–7.95, p = 0.015), increased the odds of being infected with Brucella. Majority of social-demographic and obstetric factors were not associated with the occurrence of brucellosis Conclusion Brucellosis is highly prevalent in areas with interactions of humans; livestock and wildlife. The risk of infection increased with regular contact with manure and consumption of raw foodstuff. These findings emphasize the need for interventional strategies to reduce risk of exposure and improve early detection of infection in pregnant women.

Background Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, animal products or consumption of infected dairy products. Brucella infection during pregnancy is of special interest due to associated adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study determined the seroprevalence and factors associated with Brucella infection among pregnant women around the human-wildlife-livestock interface area in Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Northern Tanzania. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2018 at six health facilities that provide antenatal services. Pregnant women receiving antenatal care were invited to participate. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in addition to behavior and practices related to the occurrence of human brucellosis. The presence of serum immunoglobulin against Brucella was determined using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). The positive samples were further assayed for the presence of IgG and IgM using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay. Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the variables associated with Brucella seropositivity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors independently associations with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment for other explanatory variables. Results A total of 313 participants were enrolled in the study. The overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection was 10.9 % (34/313) determined by RBPT. Of 34 positive individuals, 27(79.4%) and 8(23.5%) were positive in the ELISA specific for IgG and IgM Brucella antibodies respectively. Preference for raw animal blood (AOR 4.45, 95 % CI 1.5–12.9, p = 0.01), raw meat (AOR 7.59, 95 % CI 1.6 – 35.4, p = 0.01) and fresh milk (AOR 3.76, 95 % CI 1.2–11.5, p = 0.02), increased the odds of being infected with Brucella. Regular contact with manure and contact with the placenta were not statistically associated with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment. Conclusion This study has found that brucellosis is an important public health problem among pregnant women in areas with interactions of humans; livestock and wildlife. The risk of infection increased with the preference of raw foodstuffs like animal blood, meat, and milk. We emphasize the need for interventional strategies to reduce the risk of exposure

Background Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, animal products or consumption of infected dairy products. Brucella infection during pregnancy is of special interest due to association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study determined the seroprevalence and factors associated with Brucella infection among pregnant women around the human-wildlife-livestock interface area in Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Northern Tanzania. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2018 at six health facilities that provide antenatal services. Pregnant women receiving antenatal care were invited to participate. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in addition to behavior and practices related to the occurrence of human brucellosis. The presence of serum immunoglobulin against Brucella was determined using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). The positive samples were further assayed for the presence of IgG and IgM using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay. Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the variables associated with Brucella seropositivity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors independently associations with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment for other explanatory variables. Results A total of 313 participants were enrolled in the study. The overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection was 10.9 % (34/313) determined by Rose Bengal plate test. Of 34 positive individuals, 27(79.4%) and 8(23.5%) were positive in the ELISA specific for IgG and IgM Brucella antibodies respectively. Regular contact with manure (AOR 3.16, 95%CI 1.27-7.83) and preference for animal fresh milk (AOR 3.80, 95 % CI 1.23–11.69), raw meat (AOR 2.58, 95 % CI 1.14 – 5.81) and raw animal blood (AOR 2.71, 95 % CI 1.15–6.35) increased the odds of being Brucella seropositive . Contact with the animal placenta were not associated with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment. Conclusion This study has found that brucellosis is an important public health problem among pregnant women in areas with interactions of humans; livestock and wildlife. The risk of infection increased with the regular contact with manure and preference of raw foodstuffs like animal blood, meat, and milk. We emphasize the need for interventional strategies to reduce the risk of exposure.

Background Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease transmitted to humans through contact with infected animals, animal products or consumption of infected dairy products. Brucella infection during pregnancy is of special interest due to association with adverse pregnancy outcomes. This study determined the seroprevalence and factors associated with Brucella infection among pregnant women around the human-wildlife-livestock interface area in Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Northern Tanzania. Methods A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted between May and June 2018 at six health facilities that provide antenatal services. Pregnant women receiving antenatal care were invited to participate. A structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics in addition to behavior and practices related to the occurrence of human brucellosis. The presence of serum immunoglobulin against Brucella was determined using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). The positive samples were further assayed for the presence of IgG and IgM using Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent assay. Bivariate analysis was conducted to determine the variables associated with Brucella seropositivity. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors independently associations with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment for other explanatory variables. Results A total of 313 participants were enrolled in the study. The overall seroprevalence of Brucella infection was 10.9 % (34/313) determined by Rose Bengal plate test. Of 34 positive individuals, 27(79.4%) and 8(23.5%) were positive in the ELISA specific for IgG and IgM Brucella antibodies respectively. Regular contact with manure (AOR 3.16, 95%CI 1.27-7.83) and preference for animal fresh milk (AOR 3.80, 95 % CI 1.23–11.69), raw meat (AOR 2.58, 95 % CI 1.14 – 5.81) and raw animal blood (AOR 2.71, 95 % CI 1.15–6.35) increased the odds of being Brucella seropositive . Contact with the animal placenta were not associated with Brucella seropositivity after adjustment. Conclusion This study has found that brucellosis is an important public health problem among pregnant women in areas with interactions of humans; livestock and wildlife. The risk of infection increased with the regular contact with manure and preference of raw foodstuffs like animal blood, meat, and milk. We emphasize the need for interventional strategies to reduce the risk of exposure.