Human and Animal Brucellosis: A Comprehensive Review of Biology, Pathogenesis, Epidemiology, Risk Factors, Clinical Signs, Laboratory Diagnosis, Public Health Significance, Economic Importance, Prevention and Control

Abstract

Brucellosis is a highly infectious anthropozoonotic disease caused by the bacterial genus Brucella and is prevalent throughout the world. It has a wide host range, and this makes brucellosis an important public health problem causing a negative impact on the economy of the affected country. The disease is endemic in the bovine population, resulting in an estimated economic loss of US dollars 344 billion to the livestock industry. Poor management, irrational animal movement, wide ranges of hosts, large herd size, and commingling of different animal species are risk factors for animal brucellosis. Globally, brucellosis is estimated to account for 500,000 cases in humans every year. The possible risk factors for human brucellosis are eating infected animal products, occupational exposure, and contact with diseased animals or their products and discharges. Human brucellosis is characterized by a variable incubation period and has many clinical manifestations. In humans, undulating fever is the most frequently observed clinical sign with infections reported during the early trimesters of pregnancy. The common measures of preventing animal brucellosis include proper hygiene, control of animal movement, and testing and slaughtering infected animals. Successful prevention of the disease can only be achieved when extension services emphasize addressing the impacts of risk factors for the occurrence of brucellosis. Generally, there is no single prevention strategy that inhibits the transmission of brucellosis amongst animals and humans. Therefore, public education on the transmission, source of infection, public health and economic importance of the disease needs to be undertaken. The control of human and animal brucellosis is multidisciplinary, requiring the efforts of all professionals, and farmers.