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Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis skin positivity and associated risk factors in cattle from Western Uganda

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Abstract

Purpose

A cross-sectional study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis skin positivity and associated risk factors in cattle in western Uganda.

Methods

Herds were selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. The comparative cervical intradermal tuberculin test (CCT) was used to determine cattle tuberculosis status using US Department of Agriculture protocols. Risk factor data were collected from cattle owners through questionnaires collected by in-person interviews. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to measure the association between risk factors and herd CCT reactor prevalence.

Results

A total of 525 cattle from 63 herds were screened for M. bovis infection. Of the 525 cattle tested, 2.1 % were CCT reactors and 15.43 % were CCT suspects. Of herds tested, 14.28 % had at least 1 CCT reactor. Using a private water source for cattle and not introducing new cattle into the farm were associated with lower prevalence of M. bovis skin positivity. The herd-level prevalence of M. bovis reactors in Kashaari County of Mbarara District was 14.5 %, and the individual cattle prevalence was low (2.1 %).

Conclusions

Using communal sources of drinking water for cattle and introducing new cattle on the farm were farm management practices associated with increased risk of M. bovis exposure in cattle. Despite the low prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (TB), there is a need to educate the populace on the possibility of human infection with zoonotic TB and for educating farmers on practices to reduce the risk of acquiring M. bovis in the Mbarara District.

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Acknowledgments

Funding for this research was provided by a Michigan State University College of Veterinary Medicine Foundation grant and the Center for Comparative Epidemiology, Michigan State University. The authors would also like to thank the USDA-APHIS-VS for providing tuberculin for CCT testing, and the farmers and veterinary medical officers in the study area for their participation in this study.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health, College of Health Sciences, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Herbert Brian Kazoora & Noah Kiwanuka

  2. College of Veterinary Medicine, Animal Resources and Biosecurity, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda

    Herbert Brian Kazoora & Samuel Majalija

  3. Center for Comparative Epidemiology, Michigan State University, 736 Wilson Rd, Room A-109, East Lansing, MI, 48824-1314, USA

    John Baligwamunsi Kaneene

Authors
  1. Herbert Brian Kazoora
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  2. Samuel Majalija
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  3. Noah Kiwanuka
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  4. John Baligwamunsi Kaneene
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Correspondence to John Baligwamunsi Kaneene.

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Kazoora, H.B., Majalija, S., Kiwanuka, N. et al. Prevalence of Mycobacterium bovis skin positivity and associated risk factors in cattle from Western Uganda. Trop Anim Health Prod 46, 1383–1390 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-014-0650-1

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