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Background: Brucellosis is known to cause debilitating conditions if not promptly treated. In some rural areas of Tanzania however, practitioners give evidence of seeing brucellosis cases with symptoms of long duration. The purpose of this study was to establish health-seeking behaviour of human brucellosis cases in rural Tanzania and explore the most feasible ways to improve it.

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Bovine tuberculosis, caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a pathogen of growing concern in free-ranging wildlife in Africa, but little is known about the disease in Tanzanian wildlife. Here, we report the infection status of Mycobacterium bovis in a range of wildlife species sampled from protected areas in northern Tanzania. M. bovis was isolated from 11.1% (2/ 18) migratory wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) and 11.1% (1/9) topi (Damaliscus lunatus) sampled systematically in 2000 during a meat cropping program in the Serengeti ecosystem, and from one wildebeest and one lesser kudu (Tragelaphus imberbis) killed by sport hunters adjacent to Tarangire National Park. A tuberculosis antibody enzyme immunoassay (EIA) was used to screen serum samples collected from 184 Serengeti lions (Panthera leo) and 19 lions from Ngorongoro Crater sampled between 1985 and 2000. Samples from 212 ungulates collected throughout the protected area network between 1998 and 2001 also were tested by EIA. Serological assays detected antibodies to M. bovis in 4% of Serengeti lions; one positive lion was sampled in 1984. Antibodies were detected in one of 17 (6%) buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in Tarangire and one of 41 (2%) wildebeest in the Serengeti. This study confirms for the first time the presence of bovine tuberculosis in wildlife of northern Tanzania, but further investigation is required to assess the impact on wildlife populations and the role of different wildlife species in maintenance and transmission.

Brucellosis is an endemic zoonosis in sub-Saharan Africa. pastoralists are at high risk of infection but data on brucellosis from these communities are scarce. the study objectives were to: estimate the prevalence of human brucellosis, identify the Brucella spp. causing illness, describe non-Brucella bloodstream infections, and identify risk factors for brucellosis in febrile patients from a pastoralist community of Tanzania. Fourteen (6.1%) of 230 participants enrolled between August 2016 and October 2017 met study criteria for confirmed (febrile illness and culture positivity or ≥four-fold rise in SAT titre) or probable (febrile illness and single SAt titre ≥160) brucellosis. Brucella spp. was the most common bloodstream infection, with B. melitensis isolated from seven participants and B. abortus from one. Enterococcus spp., Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae were also isolated. Risk factors identified for brucellosis included age and herding, with a greater probability of brucellosis in individuals with lower age and who herded cattle, sheep or goats in the previous 12 months. Disease prevention activities targeting young herders have potential to reduce the impacts of human brucellosis in tanzania. Livestock vaccination strategies for the region should include both B. melitensis and B. abortus. Brucellosis is a globally widespread zoonotic disease 1,2 , reported as a top ten zoonosis in terms of impact on human health and economics of impoverished communities 3 and ranking in the top five diseases causing livestock losses worldwide 4. The Brucella species that most commonly cause human infections are B. melitensis, B. abortus, and B. suis 1,5. These species are classically associated with small ruminants, cattle, and swine, respectively but transmission between animal hosts is possible 6,7. Transmission from animals to people is typically via direct contact with infected animals, foodborne transmission, or indirect contact with contaminated environments 2. Human to human transmission is negligible 8. Human brucellosis typically presents as non-distinct acute or chronic febrile illness 9,10 , and is frequently clinically misdiagnosed as other causes of febrile illness, such as malaria or typhoid fever 10,11. Brucellosis is seldom fatal, but chronic infection is often debilitating and severe complications may occur 10. Although not as well recognised as in northern Africa, the Middle East or central Asia, brucellosis is endemic in many regions of sub-Saharan Africa 12,13. Within pastoral systems where people live in close contact with