Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Dec 9;10(12):1595.
doi: 10.3390/pathogens10121595.

Progressive Area Elimination of Bovine Brucellosis, 2013-2018, in Gauteng Province, South Africa: Evaluation Using Laboratory Test Reports

Krpasha Govindasamy  1   2 , Eric M C Etter  1   3   4 , Peter Geertsma  2 , Peter N Thompson  1
Affiliations

Progressive Area Elimination of Bovine Brucellosis, 2013-2018, in Gauteng Province, South Africa: Evaluation Using Laboratory Test Reports

Krpasha Govindasamy et al. Pathogens. .

Abstract

Bovine brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of global public health and economic importance. South Africa has had a national bovine brucellosis eradication scheme since 1979; however, no published report on elimination progress from any province exists. We analysed laboratory test results of all cattle herds participating in the Gauteng Provincial Veterinary Services' eradication scheme between 2013 and 2018. Herd reactor status and within-herd seroprevalence, modelled using mixed-effects logistic and negative binomial regression models, respectively, showed no significant change over the period. However, provincial State Vet Areas, Randfontein (OR = 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.1; p < 0.001) and Germiston (OR = 1.9; 95% CI: 1.5-2.5, p = 0.008) had higher odds of reactor herds than the Pretoria Area and within-herd prevalence count ratios for these areas were 1.5-fold greater than the Pretoria State Vet Area (p < 0.001). Reactor herds were associated with increased herd size (p < 0.001) and larger herd sizes were associated with lower within-herd prevalence (p < 0.001). Despite no evidence of significant progress toward bovine brucellosis elimination in Gauteng province, variability in bovine brucellosis prevalence between State Vet Areas exists. A public health and farmer-supported strategy of ongoing district-based surveillance and cattle vaccination targeting small- to medium-sized herds combined with compulsory test and slaughter of reactors in larger herds is recommended for the province.

Keywords: B. abortus; CFT; RBT; South Africa; bovine; brucellosis; elimination; eradication; laboratory reports; prevalence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Variation in Brucella reactor herd prevalence, 2013—2018, by State Veterinary Areas within Gauteng.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Variation in reactor cattle prevalence, 2013–2018 by State Veterinary Areas within Gauteng.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Distribution of farm parcels with one or more Brucella reactor herds within districts (delineated in green) and State Vet Areas (delineated in black), 1999–2018, Gauteng.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Corbel M.J., Alton G.G., Banai M., Dias R.A., Dranovskaia B.A., Elberg S.S., Garin-Bastuji B., Kolar J., Macmillan A., Mantovani A., et al. In: Brucellosis in Humans and Animals. Weltgesundheitsorganisation; FAO, editor. WHO; Geneva, Switzerland: FAO; Geneva, Switzerland: 2006. p. 89.
    1. Robinson A. Guidelines for Coordinated Human and Animal Brucellosis Surveillance. FAO; Rome, Italy: 2003.
    1. OIE Brucellosis (Brucella abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis) (Infection with B. abortus, B. melitensis and B. suis). Chapter 3.1.4. [(accessed on 20 January 2021)]. Available online: https://www.oie.int/standard-setting/terrestrial-manual/access-online/
    1. Olsen S., Tatum F. Bovine Brucellosis. Vet. Clin. Food Anim. Pract. 2010;26:15–27. doi: 10.1016/j.cvfa.2009.10.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Morgan W.J.B. The national brucellosis program of Britain. In: Crawford R.P.H., Richard J., editors. Bovine Brucellosis: An International Symposium. Texas A & M University Press; College Station, TX, USA: 1977.

LinkOut - more resources