No abstract

Brucellosis is one of the most widespread zoonosis of serious public health and an obstacle to food safety and security and, socio-economic development in most African countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the prevalence of brucellosis in abattoir workers and animals destined for slaughter; molecular characterization of Brucella species; and assess risk factors, knowledge, awareness and practices associated with transmission of human brucellosis at an abattoir setting. A total of 452 serum samples; 190, 200 and 62 from cattle, goats and humans, respectively were collected in animals and workers at Dodoma modern abattoir, Tanzania. The seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle, goats and abattoir workers was 7.3%, 1.5% and 1.6%, respectively based on Rose Bengal Plate Test. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data for assessing the knowledge, awareness and practices as well as risk factors related to brucellosis exposure at the abattoir. Knowledge, awareness coupled with adherence to biosafety measures such as wearing protective gears minimizes significantly the risks of human exposure to brucellosis. On molecular characterization of Brucella species, an amplicon with 731 base pairs (bp) which is from B. melitensis was detected in one person working in the abattoir. The low prevalence of human brucellosis at the abattoir may be attributed to the institution of biosafety measures and training of the workers. Therefore more education on the disease to farmers, abattoir workers and general public as well as instituting control measures at the farm level and biosafety measures at abattoir setting is needed.

Brucellosis is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases posing a serious obstacle to public health, food safety and security and, socioeconomic development in most African countries. A cross-sectional study was conducted to establish practices that may pose occupational risks of transmission of brucellosis to people working in abattoirs in Tanzania. A total of 452 serum samples; 190, 200 and 62 from cattle, goats and human, respectively were collected in animals and workers at Dodoma abattoir, Tanzania. The samples were screened for brucellosis using Rose Bengal Plate test (RBPT) and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect data for assessing the knowledge, awareness and practices related to brucellosis exposure. Data were analyzed to determine the association of brucellosis seropositivity with the knowledge, awareness and practices of the workers. The seroprevalence of brucellosis in cattle, goats and abattoir workers was 7.3, 1.5 and 1.6%, respectively based on Rose Bengal Plate Test. The seroprevalence was 4.7% in cattle, 1.6% in humans and none in goats when samples were tested by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The results of this study show that, there is a potential occupational risk of acquisition of brucellosis for abattoir workers and hence, the need for awareness campaigns and taking appropriate precautions to minimize the zoonotic risks is greatly required.