Human Brucellosis Trends: Re‐emergence and Prospects for Control Using a One Health Approach in Azerbaijan (1983–2009)

Abstract

Brucellosis is one of the most common and widely spread zoonotic diseases in the world. Control of the disease in humans is dependent upon limiting the infection in animals through surveillance and vaccination. Given the dramatic economic and political changes that have taken place in the former Soviet Union, which have limited control, evaluating the status of human brucellosis in former Soviet states is crucial. We assessed annual spatial and temporal trends in the epidemiology of human brucellosis in Azerbaijan, 1983-2009, in conjunction with data from a livestock surveillance and control programme (2002-2009). To analyse trends, we used a combination of segmented regression and spatial analysis. From 1983 to 2009, a total of 11 233 cases of human brucellosis were reported. Up to the mid-1990s, the incidence of human brucellosis showed a pattern of re-emergence, increasing by 25% annually, on average. Following Soviet governance, the incidence rates peaked, increasing by 1.8% annually, on average, and subsequently decreasing by 5% annually, on average, during the period 2002-2009. Despite recent national declines in human incidence, we identified geographic changes in the case distribution characterized by a geographic expansion and an increasing incidence among districts clustered in the south-east, compared to a decrease of elsewhere in the country. Males were consistently, disproportionately afflicted (71%) and incidence was highest in the 15 to 19 age group (18.1 cases/100 000). During the period 2002-2009, >10 million small ruminants were vaccinated with Rev1. Our findings highlight the improving prospects for human brucellosis control following livestock vaccination; however, the disease appears to be re-emerging in south-eastern Azerbaijan. Sustained one health measures are needed to address changing patterns of brucellosis in Azerbaijan and elsewhere in the former Soviet Union.

Seroprevalence of brucellosis in goats and sheep in Thailand: Results from the Thai National Brucellosis Surveillance System from 2013 to 2015

“…For instance, changes in the livestock system including an increase in livestock handlers per animal and increasing livestock density in Kazakhstan after the collapse of the USSR have been attributed to brucellosis epidemics (Beauvais, Coker, Nurtazina, & Guitian, 2017). A 2015 analysis of livestock surveillance data in Azerbaijan spanning the transition from Soviet dissolution to independence found that in areas where agriculture production had increased, so did the number of reported human cases of brucellosis (Kracalik et al, 2016). Policies to intensify livestock production have been attributed as one of the key factors in the re-emergence of brucellosis throughout sub-Saharan Africa (Ducrotoy et al, 2014).…”

Brucella seropositivity in slaughter food animals and role of slaughterhouse workers in spread of Brucella infection in Southeast Nigeria

“…In view of the low infective dose of B. melitensis , estimated at 10 - 100 colony-forming units [ 12 , 13 , 31 , 32 ], their potential for aerosol dissemination [ 31 ] and the ability of the organisms to cause protracted and incapacitating disease of enormous public health and economic consequences [ 12 , 14 ]; there is need for a coordinated brucellosis prevention and control programs in the study area to limit the spread of Brucella infection. Such programs must include awareness creation on the mode of acquisition or spread of Brucella infection, as well as the public health and economic consequences associated with the disease.…”

The application of One Health concept to an outdoor problem-based learning activity for veterinary students

“…The results from the table also indicate that the contents of the material delivered in the program were up-to-date and very relevant to the current situation in the veterinary field. Indeed, the case studies that were used in this PBL-OH program were designed to cater the present climate in zoonotic diseases [ 25 - 28 ]. This information helped the participants to relate the knowledge they learned in the classroom into the actual field scenarios.…”