Sero-epidemiology of brucellosis in small ruminants, and herder’s knowledge and risky practices in southern Ethiopia

Abstract

Brucellosis is an infectious zoonotic disease that causes reproductive losses in animals and poses public health hazards. This study was conducted in two zones of southern Ethiopia to estimate the seroprevalence and identify the associated risk factors of brucellosis in sheep and goats. Additionally, knowledge, attitude and practices (KAP) of the livestock keepers regarding brucellosis were assessed. Serum samples collected from 788 animals (179 sheep and 609 goats) were serially tested by the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and Compliment Fixation Test (CFT). Multivariable logistic regression was used to analyze the risk factors. The overall seroprevalence of brucellosis in small ruminants was 4.1 % (95 % CI: 3.7, 4.4 %) with a higher prevalence in goats (5.1 %, 95 % CI: 3.3, 7.0) than in sheep (0.6 %, 95 % CI: 0.01, 3.2). Seroprevalence was significantly higher in animals from lowland (Odds ratio, OR = 20.7, 95 % CI: 2.3, 78), aged above 2 years (OR = 10.0, 95 % CI = 2.20, 45.67), purchased from markets (OR = 3.0, 95 % CI = 1.3, 7.4), large flocks (OR = 2.5, 95 % CI = 1.0, 6.2), and from households with dogs (OR = 2.9, 95 %CI: 1.2–6.8) compared to their counterparts. The likelihood of seropositivity was about 9 folds higher in goats than in sheep and 8.4 times higher in flocks with abortion history than other categories. KAP results suggest that herders had inadequate knowledge on brucellosis with 54 % (95 %CI: 51.3, 57.2) of the questions were answered correctly, placing them in the poor knowledge category (< 60 % cut off point). Considerable proportion of the respondents (42 %) had expressed risky attitudes, and most of them have been engaged in varying degree of risky practices that likely expose them to zoonotic infections. Insufficient knowledge and a desire to learn more about brucellosis reinforce the need to increase public awareness on the zoonotic risks of the disease, and its transmission, prevention and control measures.