Abstract
BackgroundBrucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections globally. Lack of knowledge about brucellosis may affect the health-seeking behavior of patients, thus leading to sustained transmission in these communities. Our study assessed knowledge and perceptions of brucellosis among pastoral communities adjacent to Lake Mburo National Park (LMNP), Kiruhura District, Uganda.MethodsA community cross-sectional questionnaire survey involving 371 randomly selected household heads from three sub-counties neighboring LMNP were interviewed between June and August 2012. Data collected included communities’ knowledge on causes, symptoms, transmission, treatment, prevention and risk factors of brucellosis. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to explore strength of association between overall knowledge of brucellosis and various individual factors using odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals.ResultsOnly 70 (19%) knew the symptoms of brucellosis in animals, and three quarters (279, 75.5%) mentioned joint and muscle pain as a common symptom in humans. Almost all participants (370, 99.3%) had ever heard about brucellosis, majority (311, 84.7%) believed it affects all sexes and two thirds (67.7%) of the respondents believed close proximity to wildlife contributes to the presence of the disease. Almost all (352, 95.4%) knew that brucellosis in humans could be treatable using modern drugs. The main routes of infection in humans such as consumption of unpasteurized dairy products were known by 97% (360/371); eating of half-cooked meat by 91.4% and eating contaminated pasture in animals by 97.4%. There was moderate overall knowledge of brucellosis 197 (53.1%). Factors associated with higher overall knowledge were being agro-pastoralists (aOR: 2.08, CI: 1.17-3.71) compared to pure pastoralists while those who reported that the disease was a health problem (aOR: 0.18, CI: 0.06-0.56) compared to those who said it was not were less likely to be knowledgeable.ConclusionsThere was moderate overall knowledge of human and animal brucellosis among the participants. Majority of the participants believed that close proximity to wildlife contributes to the presence of the disease in the area. There is a need for collaboration between the public health, veterinary and wildlife sectors to provide health education on brucellosis for better management of the disease in the communities.
Highlights
Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections globally
Responses from the participants depicted that brucellosis affects all age groups and all sexes and 243 (66.2%) mentioned that the disease is not seasonal
Those who had ever heard about brucellosis, 222(59.8%) had a household member who had ever suffered from the disease
Summary
Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections globally. Lack of knowledge about brucellosis may affect the health-seeking behavior of patients, leading to sustained transmission in these communities. Brucellosis is one of the most common zoonotic infections globally [1], transmitted to humans through consumption of unpasteurized dairy products or through direct contact with infected animals, placentas or aborted foetuses. Brucellosis is often misdiagnosed as other febrile syndromes such as malaria and typhoid fever, thereby resulting in mistreatments and underreporting [3]. This bacterial disease is a zoonosis of veterinary, public health and economic significance in most developing countries [4]. In livestock, it results in abortion, reduced fertility, weak offspring and lowered milk production [5]. In regions where human brucellosis is endemic, there is a great need to link animal and human health sectors since veterinary and public health sectors share the common goal of protecting, promoting and improving the health and wellbeing of human populations [9]
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