THE IMPACT OF BRUCELLOSIS ON THE ECONOMY AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN AFRICA

Abstract

From a health standpoint, even though cattle, sheep, goats and pigs are under official veterinary control in 25 of the 29 countries that participated in the survey, there is no epidemiological surveillance of brucellosis in more than half of the respondent countries. Nevertheless, bovine brucellosis attracts much more attention than brucellosis of other animal species. Prevalence in cattle ranges from 0.034% in Botswana to 30% in Niger. In small ruminants, it ranges from 0.1% to 12.5%. The prevalence of the infection in humans is reported by only a few countries and is negligible, except in one case. Although national laboratories have the capacity to diagnose brucellosis, in many cases lack of funding prevents them from conducting systematic screening and implementing effective control measures. While most countries have legislation recognising brucellosis as a contagious disease of cattle, sheep, goats and pigs, very few notify cases to the OIE or apply certification measures. For this reason, it is recommended to: strengthen capacity building of Veterinary Services in Africa for better detection of brucellosis, raise awareness of the need to notify cases of brucellosis to the OIE; to set up national joint committees for zoonosis control comprising both public health and animal health officials and to conduct an exhaustive study of the real economic and health importance of animal brucellosis in Africa.