Abstract
Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, caused by some species within the Brucella genus. The primary and secondary objectives of this cross-sectional study were to determine the seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies in humans and cows and identify risk factors for exposure to Brucella spp. among people in Shahjadpur sub-district, Bangladesh. Twenty-five villages were randomly selected from the 303 milk-producing villages in the sub-district. We randomly selected 5% of the total households from each village. At each household, we collected demographic information and history of potential exposure to Brucella spp. in humans. In addition, we collected serum from household participants and serum and milk from cattle and tested to detect antibodies to Brucella sp. Univariate analysis was performed to detect associations between seropositivity and demographics, risk factors, and behaviors in households. We enrolled 647 households, 1313 humans, and 698 cows. Brucella antibodies were detected in sera from 27 household participants (2.1%, 95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 1.2–2.9%). Eleven (1.6%, 95%CI 0.6–2.4%) cows had detectable Brucella antibodies in either milk or serum. About half (53%) of the 698 cows exhibited more than one reproductive problem within the past year; of these, seven (2%) had Brucella antibodies. Households with seropositive individuals more frequently reported owning cattle (78% vs. 32%, P < 0.001). Despite a low prevalence of Brucella seropositivity in the study, the public health importance of brucellosis cannot be ruled out. Further studies would help define Brucella prevalence and risk factors in this region and nationally.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to our study participants for their time and valuable information. We thank Mohammad Mansorol Haq, Md. Asaduzzaman, Ashish Kumar Kundu, S.A.M. Safiur Rahman, Md. Rayhanul Islam, Arifur Rahman Bablu and Rubel Hossen for their valuable contribution in field implementation of the study. We also thank Gladys Leterme, icddr,b for her constructive support in editing and Nadia Ali Rimi, icddr,b for her guidance and support in this manuscript development. We acknowledge Sean Shadomy, Marta Guerra and Henry Walke from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA, for their constructive support during project development. We acknowledge Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute (BLRI) for their collaboration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA, for funding. We are also grateful to icddr,b and its core donors, the Governments of Bangladesh, Canada, Sweden, and the UK, for supporting this work.
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Funding was provided by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Grant No. 01228).
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The study protocol was reviewed and approved by icddrb's research review committee and its ethical and animal experimentation ethics review committees. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relied on icddr,b’s determination. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry].
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Shanta, I.S., Heffelfinger, J.D., Hossain, K. et al. Exposure to Brucella spp. in Humans and Cows in a High Milk-Producing Area of Bangladesh. EcoHealth 20, 416–426 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01660-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10393-023-01660-9