An epidemiological analysis of the occurence of brucellosis in cattle and adopted control measures in South Africa during the period 2014 to 2019

Abstract

Bovine brucellosis is among the most neglected zoonotic diseases in developing countries, where it is endemic and a growing challenge to public health. The development of cost-effective control measures of the disease can only be affirmed by knowledge of the disease epidemiology and the ability to define its risk profiles. The study aimed to document the trend of bovine brucellosis and the control measures adopted following reported cases during the period 2014 to 2019 in South Africa. Data on confirmed cases of bovine brucellosis was retrieved from the website of the World Organisation of Animal Health (WOAH). Data was analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS, 2022) version 29.0. Descriptive analysis (frequencies and percentages) and the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized for statistical significance (p<0.05). The data retrieved revealed an overall average bovine brucellosis prevalence rate of 8.48%. There were statistically significance differences in bovine brucellosis prevalence across the provinces except for the year 2016 (p<0.05), with Eastern Cape province having the highest prevalence rate in 2016. Vaccination, kill and disposed were the documented control measures in place for the control of bovine brucellosis in the current study, with vaccination being the most commonly adopted strategy. The study identified gaps, such as the lack of invaluable information on the adoption of comprehensive control measures, testing of only suspect cases, and export livestock, that may contribute to brucellosis underreporting in South Africa. More research on the epidemiology alongside the adoption of comprehensive control measures can help to reduce the outbreaks of bovine brucellosis and economic impact in the South African livestock sector