Camel Brucellosis: Its Public Health and Economic Impact in Pastoralists, Mehoni District, Southeastern Tigray, Ethiopia

摘要

Camel brucellosis is a disease caused by Brucella mellitensis and B. abortus with considerable public health and economic importance to as owners consume raw milk. A cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2014 to April 2015 with the objective of identifying risk factors associated with infection of pastoralists and estimating their economic losses due to camel brucellosis in Mehoni District, Northeastern Ethiopia. From a total of 415 camel sera collected from three peasant associations, 24 camels were found positive by Rose Bengal plate test (RBPT), and 14 of them were confirmed by complement fixation test (CFT). The overall sero-prevalence of Brucella antibodies in camels was 5.80% (24) and 3.37% (14) by RBPT and CFT, respectively. From a total of 120 camel owners participated in the interview, about 91% (109) drank fresh raw milk regularly, and 11.01% (12) of them owned the sero-positive camels. The risk of Brucella infection was found to be high (88.33%, 106) in owners with close contact to their animals (OR = 8.07, CI 95%; 0.476, 137.014). The logistic regression analysis showed that 85.71% (6/7) of the respondents previously having malaria-like symptoms were found to be significantly associated with owning seropositive animals (OR = 78.74, CI 95%; 8.419, 736.569). Based on the present findings, an estimated economic loss due to camel brucellosis was found to be 429,351.48 ETB (21,467.56 US $) for each individual infected camel with age above 4 years. This pilot assessment indicated high economic burden to the pastoral community and on national livestock industry at large. Lack of awareness about zoonotic diseases together with existing habit of raw milk consumption and close contact with animals can serve as means of Brucella infection to human beings. Thus, there is a need to design and implement control measures aiming at preventing further spread of the disease both in animal and nomadic pastoralists, and minimize economic loss due to camel brucellosis in this agro-pastoral region.