Prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. and individual risk Factors of Infection in Traditional Cattle, Goats and Sheep Reared in Livestock–Wildlife Interface Areas of Zambia

Abstract

Please cite the article as: Muma, J.B., Samui, K.L., Siamudaala, V.M., Oloya, J., Matope, G., Omer, M.K., Munyeme, M., Mubita, C., Skjerve, E., 2006. Prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. and individual risk factors of infection in traditional cattle, goats and sheep reared in livestock-wildlife interface areas of Zambia. Tropical Animal Health and Production,. 2 AbstractA cross-sectional study was performed in the livestock-wildlife interface areas of Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon National Parks and the non-interface area of Kazungula to determine the prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. in domestic ruminants and identify individual animal risk factors of infection. Atotal of 1245 cattle from 124 herds and 280 goats and sheep from 29 flocks were tested sequentially for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal test (RBT) and competitive ELISA. In cattle, individual seroprevalence ranged from 14.1% to 28.1%, while herd sero-prevalence ranged from 46.2% to 74.0% in the three study areas. No goat or sheep tested positive for Brucella antibodies. Three types of cattle grazing strategies were encountered: locally grazed herds (LGH), transhumantly grazed herds (TGH) and river flood plain grazed herds (FGH). Brucella seroprevalence was seen to vary according to area and grazing strategy: Lochinvar and transhumant grazed herds recorded the highest figures, respectively. Age, sex and history of abortion were found to have independent effects on individual seroprevalence. This study establishes that brucellosis is endemic in domestic animals in the livestock-wildlife interface areas of Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar national parks and the disease is also present in Kazungula. We observed that type of grazing strategy had significant impact on cattle Brucella seroprevalence and that transhumant herds were at high risk of being infected.

Serosurvey of Brucella Spp. Infection in the Kafue Lechwe (Kobus Leche Kafuensis) of the Kafue Flats in Zambia

“…infections are highly contagious, wildlife-cattle interaction may pose a risk of transmission from cattle to wildlife and wildlife to cattle (bimodal transmission) on grazing pasture and at drinking water points (Jiwa et al, 1996;Reviriego et al, 2000). This is in agreement with previous findings that there was more wildlife-cattle interaction in the Lochinvar region than in Blue lagoon (Muma et al, 2007). An association between Brucella spp.…”

“…Antibody prevalences varied according to area, with Lochinvar having a higher prevalence (26.5%; 95% CI: 14.2-29.1%) than Blue lagoon did (10.8%; 96% CI: 0.05-21.1%). This trend was also observed in cattle sharing the same grazing land with lechwe, where antibody prevalence was estimated at 28.1% (CI: 17.1-39.2%) and 14.1% (CI: 7.5-20.6%) for Lochinvar and Blue lagoon, respectively (Muma et al, 2006). The Brucella spp.…”

“…An association between Brucella spp. infections in lechwe and cattle was reported earlier (Muma et al, 2006(Muma et al, , 2007.…”

“…In cattle (Bos taurus) in the rural areas, the prevalence of the antibody to Brucella spp. has been estimated to range from 14.1% to 28.1% and from 46.2% to 74.0%, at individual and herd levels, respectively (Muma et al, 2006); in goats, Brucella melitensis has been suspected, based on serology (Bell et al, 1976(Bell et al, , 1977.…”

Risk factors associated with bovine tuberculosis in traditional cattle of the livestock/wildlife interface areas in the Kafue basin of Zambia

“…We tried to avoid interviewer variations by limiting only to two persons as interviewers. In order to improve the accuracy of the data collected during these interviews, the data relevant for the TB survey were collected simultaneously with data collected for a Brucella questionnaire (Muma et al, 2006).…”