BackgroundBrucellosis is a worldwide recognized bacterial zoonotic disease. There is currently no information on bovine brucellosis sero-prevalence in South Sudan regardless of the economic, social and public health impact on populations. Therefore, for the first time in 33 years, we report the sero-prevalence of brucellosis in cattle and their herders. Furthermore, we characterize the drivers associated with the disease at the human-animal interface in Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan.MethodsA total of 893 and 87 animal and human sera respectively were examined between December 2015 and May 2016. Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (c-ELISA) were used in parallel to detect anti-Brucella antibodies. Questionnaires were administered to collect relevant metadata used for the association analysis in R version 3.2.3. Odds Ratio (OR) and Confidence Intervals (CI) were determined.ResultsOverall bovine brucellosis prevalence was 31% (95%CI = 28.0–34.2), with the highest 63% (95%CI = 53–70) and lowest 10% (95%CI = 4.5–20.1) prevalence estimates in Wau and Gogrial states respectively. The bovine sero-prevalence was approximately equally distributed among the male 30.4% (26.9–34.2) and the females 32.5% (26.8–38.7). Poor body condition (OR = 0.22; 95%CI = 0.07–0.54) and larger herd sizes (OR = 0.05; 95%CI = 0.008–0.173) were protective factors for brucellosis, while the opposite was true for the second (OR = 1.70; 95%CI = 1.08–2.67) and third (OR = 2.5; 95%CI = 1.46–4.47) lactation stage. The overall brucellosis sero-prevalence in herders was estimated at 33.3% (23.9–44.3).ConclusionWe report a high prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in cattle and their herders in Bahr el Ghazal, indicating an enzootic status in the cattle population being an important source of infection for humans. This represents a genuine public health challenge. Therefore, there is need to raise awareness and build capacity and infrastructure in this fragile state to underwrite future public health strategies for brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of public health importance; its prevalence varies globally. In low-income countries, brucellosis is an endemic and neglected disease affecting both animals and humans. This study was intended to establish brucellosis sero-prevalence among patients attending Wau hospital, South Sudan. Across sectional study, was done among randomly selected patients attending Wau hospital. Data was collected using questionnaires and laboratory investigations. Rose Bengal plate Test (RBPT), Serum agglutination test (SAT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked Immuno Sorbent Assay (c-ELISA) was used in the analysis of blood samples serially starting with RBPT which is more sensitive and least specific then SAT. c-ELISA test which is most specific and less sensitive compared to RBPT and SAT was then used to confirm presence of Brucella antibodies in the samples. A total of 416 participants out of 1664 were enrolled to this study. The majority of participants were between 7-to-76 years of age with mean age of 30.72 (SD+/- 12.83). The sero-positivity of patient’s blood samples for brucellosis using c-ELISA was 23.3% (97/416) among patients presenting to Wau hospital. Socio-demographic characteristics, occupation, clinical signs of disease and types of animals reared by animal owners showed no significant correlation with occurrence of sero-positivity among patient’s blood samples for brucellosis. While ethnicity (Nilotic), knowledge of zoonotic disease, and consumption of animal urine were statistically significant (p<0.05). The study found a high prevalence of brucellosis among febrile patients attending Wau hospital general outpatient clinic. There is need for co-ordination and collaboration between veterinary and health sectors of government to help prevent and control brucellosis in the region.

Background Brucellosis is an infectious zoonotic disease and is common especially among pastoral communities in most low and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to determine sero-prevalence, and risk factors of Brucella infection among Slaughterhouse workers, in Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan. Methods A cross sectional study was conducted among Slaughterhouse workers in Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan from December 2015 to May 2016. A pre-tested questionnaire was used in data collection. Each randomly selected participant was interviewed and a venous blood sample collected. The blood samples were screened for Brucellosis infection using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and confirmed using Competitive Enzyme link Immuno Sorbet Assay (c-ELISA). Data was analyzed using Stata version 13 at 95% level of confidence. Results A total of 234 Slaughterhouse workers were screen for Brucella infection. Overall, a third, 32.1% (75/234) of the participants were sero-positive for brucellosis. The prevalence of brucellosis was higher, 17.1% (40/234) in Wau state compared to other states. There was high prevalence among males, 28.6% (67/234) compared to females 3.4% (8/234). The mean age of study participants was 34.4 ± 9.6 years. A high proportion, 12.8% (30/234) of participants with confirmed brucellosis infection were 31–40 years of age. Brucellosis prevalence was high among butchers, 14.5% (34/234), and meat handlers, 9.0% (21/234). Conclusions Brucellosis is common among animal slaughterhouse workers in Bahr el Ghazal region, South Sudan. There is need for public awareness campaigns and educational programs to help sensitize communities on Brucella infection.