Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Brucellosis among Indigenous Cattle in the Adamawa and North Regions of Cameroon

Abstract

A cross-sectional seroprevalence study was conducted on cattle in the North and Adamawa Regions of Cameroon to investigate the status of bovine brucellosis and identify potential risk factors. The diagnosis was carried out using the Rose Bengal Plate test (RBPT) and indirect ELISA (i-ELISA), while questionnaires were used to evaluate risk factors for bovine brucellosis in cattle. The Bayesian approach was used to evaluate the diagnostic tests' sensitivity and specificity. The overall individual level (n = 1031) and herd level (n = 82) seroprevalence were 5.4% (0.4–10.5) and 25.6% (16.2–35.0), respectively. Bayesian analysis revealed sensitivity of 58.3% (26.4–92.7) and 89.6% (80.4–99.4) and specificity of 92.1% (88.7–95.2) and 95.7% (91.1–99.7) for RBPT and i-ELISA, respectively. Management related factors such as region, locality, herd size, and knowledge of brucellosis and animal related factors such as sex and age were significantly associated with seropositivity of brucellosis. Zoonotic brucellosis is a neglected disease in Cameroon. The study highlights the need for control measures and the need to raise public awareness of the zoonotic occurrence and transmission of bovine brucellosis in the country. An integrated disease control strategy mimicking the one health approach involving medical personnel, veterinarians, related stakeholders, and affected communities cannot be overemphasized.

Detection of Brucella abortus and Brucellla melitensis in cattle and sheep from southern Cameroon

“…During the last decades, several investigations have been undertaken to determine the sero-prevalence of Brucella antibodies in sub-Saharan African countries [7,10,11,13,14]. Although most of these investigations demonstrated contacts between Brucella and various hosts including humans and different animal species, the identity of bacteria species that are responsible for the production of Brucella' antibodies has not been deeply investigated.…”

“…Compared to B. abortus, the low B. melitensis infection rate in domestic animals suggests low transmission of B. melitensis in sub Saharan countries [39]. Known as the etiologic agent of brucellosis in sheep [13], the small size of sheep' herd compared to cattle is another factor playing for the low transmission of B. melitensis and consequently, its low infection rate in domestic animals [11,27].…”

“…In most sub-Saharan African countries, investigations undertaken on brucellosis have been mainly based on Brucella antibodies detection using various serological tests like the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA), complement fixation test [7,10,11,12,13,14].…”

“…Even though serological tests have generated epidemiological data on the sero-prevalence of Brucella antibodies in humans and domestic animals of several sub-Saharan countries, these tests cannot differentiate different Brucella species [7,10,11,13]. Moreover, the host species for each Brucella species remain not well known.…”

Detection of Brucella abortus and Brucellla melitensis in cattle and sheep from southern Cameroon

“…In most sub-Saharan African countries, investigations undertaken on brucellosis have been mainly based on Brucella antibodies detection using various serological tests like the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and complement xation test [12,[13][14][15][16][17]. Although these serological tests have generated epidemiological data on the sero-prevalence of Brucella antibodies in humans and domestic animals from several sub-Saharan countries, these tests cannot differentiate different Brucella species [9,[13][14][15][16]. Results generated by these serological tests are of limited epidemiological values.…”