Seroprevalence of Brucellosis among Patients Attending a District Hospital in Rwanda

Abstract

Studies on human brucellosis in Rwanda are scarce, and the incidence is likely to be higher than official estimates. In a recent study using Rose Bengal Test (RBT) on women who had aborted or had still births in Huye district, 25% were seroprevalent. Thus, purpose of the present study was to investigate the seroprevalence in patients presenting with the key signs and symptoms of brucellosis. Cross-sectional study was done in Nyagatare District in the Eastern Province of Rwanda. A total of 198 patients were recruited from Nyagatare District Hospital, blood samples were collected, and sera analyzed with RBT. A questionnaire was used to explore the risk factors. A total of 12 patients (6.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.662-7.820) were seropositive. Infection was significantly associated with drinking unboiled milk (odds ratio [OR] = 8.3; 95% CI = 2.4-29.2) and having had recurrent fever (OR = 5.6; 95% CI = 1.5-21.3) Drinking unboiled milk is a risk factor for infection. Provision of adequate resources and trainings to staff in brucellosis diagnosis is needed to reduce recurrence of fevers probably because of misdiagnosis. Public awareness creation on transmission routes of brucellosis is to be intensified.

Prevalence and risk factors for brucellosis seropositivity in cattle in Nyagatare District, Eastern Province, Rwanda

“…Yet another study has confirmed seroprevalence of bovine brucellosis of 2.3% in Kigali City (Manishimwe et al 2015). A very recent study at Nyagatare Hospital reported 6.1% seroprevalence of brucellosis in humans (Gafirita et al 2017), confirming that the disease is endemic in the area. In order to effectively control brucellosis, there is an urgent need to develop and implement eradication programmes in view of the risk factors for this disease identified in this study.…”

“…The bacteriological and serological evidence as well as epidemiological characteristics of brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa have been recently reviewed (Ducrotoy et al 2017). There are few publications on bovine brucellosis (Chatikobo et al 2009; Manishimwe et al 2015; Rujeni & Mbanzamihigo 2014) and even fewer on the epidemiology of brucellosis in humans (Gafirita et al 2017; Rujeni & Mbanzamihigo 2014) in Rwanda.…”

Seroprevalence and Associated Risk Factors of Bovine Brucellosis at the Wildlife-Livestock-Human Interface in Rwanda

“…In Rwanda, there are few published studies on bovine brucellosis, and individual animal seroprevalence has been found to range from 2.2% in peri-urban areas of Kigali city to 18.9% in the Nyagatare district [ 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 ]. The seroprevalence of brucellosis in women with a history of abortion was found to be 6.1% at the Nyagatare district hospital [ 18 ] and 25.0% at Huye teaching hospital [ 19 ]. Despite the efforts to control brucellosis in Rwanda, the factors responsible for its persistence remain poorly understood.…”

Brucellosis: Prevalence with reference to East African community countries – A rapid review

“…Rwanda is the smallest country in EAC located at the West of the regional block (Figure 1) and sharing borders with Uganda at the Brucellosis studies have been conducted in Rwanda, although few and scattered over the years (Akayezu, 1984;Chatikoba et al, 2008;Gafirita et al, 2017;Manishimwe et al, 2015;Ndazigaruye et al, 2018;Rujeni & Mbanzamihigo, 2014;Thienpont et al, 1961). In the last decade (2010-2019), a total of four studies were published on animal and human brucellosis in the country (Table 2).…”