Brucellosis remains a neglected disease in the developing world: a call for interdisciplinary action

Abstract

BackgroundBrucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease in most of the developing world that causes devastating losses to the livestock industry and small-scale livestock holders. Infected animals exhibit clinical signs that are of economic significance to stakeholders and include reduced fertility, abortion, poor weight gain, lost draught power, and a substantial decline in milk production. In humans, brucellosis typically manifests as a variety of non-specific clinical signs. Chronicity and recurring febrile conditions, as well as devastating complications in pregnant women are common sequelae.DiscussionIn regions where the disease is endemic, brucellosis has far-reaching and deleterious effects on humans and animals alike. Deeply entrenched social misconceptions and fear of government intervention contribute to this disease continuing to smolder unchecked in most of the developing world, thereby limiting economic growth and inhibiting access to international markets. The losses in livestock productivity compromise food security and lead to shifts in the cognitive competency of the working generation, influence the propagation of gender inequality, and cause profound emotional suffering in farmers whose herds are affected. The acute and chronic symptoms of the disease in humans can result in a significant loss of workdays and a decline in the socioeconomic status of infected persons and their families from the associated loss of income. The burden of the disease to society includes significant human healthcare costs for diagnosis and treatment, and non-healthcare costs such as public education efforts to reduce disease transmission.ConclusionBrucellosis places significant burdens on the human healthcare system and limits the economic growth of individuals, communities, and nations where such development is especially important to diminish the prevalence of poverty. The implementation of public policy focused on mitigating the socioeconomic effects of brucellosis in human and animal populations is desperately needed. When developing a plan to mitigate the associated consequences, it is vital to consider both the abstract and quantifiable effects. This requires an interdisciplinary and collaborative, or One Health, approach that consists of public education, the development of an infrastructure for disease surveillance and reporting in both veterinary and medical fields, and campaigns for control in livestock and wildlife species.

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in sheep and goats in Duhok and Sumel districts of northern Iraq

“…Whereas, Sintayehu et al (2015) reported that goats were about four times more likely to be infected than sheep. Franc et al (2018) reported an average prevalence ranging from 0% to 88.8% in sheep and goats in Africa and Asia. Seropositivity values of 6.0% and 7.5% for sheep herds in Duhok and Sumel were higher than the values reported as 0.7% by Reviriego et al (2000) in Spain, 0.9% by Mokhtar et al (2007) in eastern Sudan, 0.8% by Sintayehu et al (2015) in Ethiopia, and 0.9% by Lakew et al (2019) in Ehiopian-Somali pastoral communities.…”

A high‐throughput screening for inhibitors of riboflavin synthase identifies novel antimicrobial compounds to treat brucellosis

“…and is transmitted to humans through direct contact with infected animals or by consumption of infected, unpasteurized animal‐derived products. The disease is essentially endemic in marginalized populations in low‐income countries, reason why the World Health Organization has recently classified it as a neglected zoonotic disease .…”

Serodiagnostic potential of Brucella outer membrane and periplasmic proteins

“…Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections that negatively affects livestock productivity and leads to lifelong disability [1]. More than half a million new cases of human brucellosis are recorded worldwide every year, although this figure is considered to be largely underreported.…”