Punam Mangtani1, Isha Berry1,2, Wendy Beauvais1,3, Hannah R Holt4, Amit Kulashri5, Satinder Bharti5, Vivek Sagar5, Patrick Nguipdop-Djomo1, Jasbir Bedi6, Manmeet Kaur5, Javier Guitian4, John McGiven7, Paviter Kaur6, Jatinder P Singh Gill6, Gagandeep Singh Grover8, Rajesh Kumar1,5. 1. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK. 2. Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5T 3M7, Canada. 3. Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, Ithaca, NY 14850, USA. 4. Royal Veterinary College, Hertfordshire AL9 7TA, UK. 5. School of Public Health, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector-12, Chandigarh 160012, India. 6. Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab 141012, India. 7. Department of Bacteriology, Animal and Plant Health Agency, OIE Brucellosis Reference Laboratory, FAO Collaborating Centre for Brucellosis, Surrey KT15 3NB, UK. 8. Directorate of Health & Family Welfare, Government of Punjab, Parivar Kalyan Bhawan, Chandigarh 160022, India.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is an important neglected zoonosis. Effective cattle vaccines are available but are infrequently used in India, where rural households commonly own one or two cattle as sources of protein and income. We assessed the prevalence of infection and risk factors in humans. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional sero-survey in randomly selected individuals in 60 villages in Punjab. Infection prevalence was assessed by positive Rose Bengal testing or immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Risk factors were adjusted for potential confounding using multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Of the 1927 subjects who were approached, 93% agreed to participate. Age-standardised prevalence for Brucella infection was 2.24% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.61 to 3.11). More than 60% of households kept cattle and 10% assisted with calving or abortions. Nearly all individuals consumed boiled cow/buffalo milk from their own or neighbours' cattle and 3.3% consumed goat's milk. There was a 2.18 times increased odds (95% CI 0.96 to 4.95) of infection with calving/abortions and a 4.26 times increased odds (95% CI 1.33 to 13.6) with goat's milk but not bovine milk consumption. CONCLUSIONS: An association with calving/abortions and goat's milk consumption was seen. Brucella vaccination of household livestock would reduce the risk to humans in such settings. Additional measures include biosecurity training around calving/abortions, education to boil all milk and for healthcare workers to test for brucellosis.
BACKGROUND:Brucellosis is an important neglected zoonosis. Effective cattle vaccines are available but are infrequently used in India, where rural households commonly own one or two cattle as sources of protein and income. We assessed the prevalence of infection and risk factors in humans. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional sero-survey in randomly selected individuals in 60 villages in Punjab. Infection prevalence was assessed by positive Rose Bengal testing or immunoglobulin G enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Risk factors were adjusted for potential confounding using multivariable analyses. RESULTS: Of the 1927 subjects who were approached, 93% agreed to participate. Age-standardised prevalence for Brucella infection was 2.24% (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.61 to 3.11). More than 60% of households kept cattle and 10% assisted with calving or abortions. Nearly all individuals consumed boiled cow/buffalo milk from their own or neighbours' cattle and 3.3% consumed goat's milk. There was a 2.18 times increased odds (95% CI 0.96 to 4.95) of infection with calving/abortions and a 4.26 times increased odds (95% CI 1.33 to 13.6) with goat's milk but not bovine milk consumption. CONCLUSIONS: An association with calving/abortions and goat's milk consumption was seen. Brucella vaccination of household livestock would reduce the risk to humans in such settings. Additional measures include biosecurity training around calving/abortions, education to boil all milk and for healthcare workers to test for brucellosis.
Authors: Aman Ullah Khan; Falk Melzer; Ashraf Hendam; Ashraf E Sayour; Iahtasham Khan; Mandy C Elschner; Muhammad Younus; Syed Ehtisham-Ul-Haque; Usman Waheed; Muhammad Farooq; Shahzad Ali; Heinrich Neubauer; Hosny El-Adawy Journal: Front Vet Sci Date: 2020-12-02
Authors: Laiba Hassan; Shahzad Ali; Muhammad Ali Syed; Asim Ali Shah; Shahid Ahmad Abbasi; Sadia Tabassum; Usama Saeed; Falk Melzer; Aman Ullah Khan; Hosny El-Adawy; Heinrich Neubauer Journal: Front Public Health Date: 2022-01-31