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Brucellosis in sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract:

Although regarded as a major zoonosis, brucellosis is often considered as an underestimated and neglected disease in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The circulating Brucella biovars and their geographical dispersion are little known in this region. The epidemiologic importance and the economic impact of brucellosis within the various production systems are also widely underestimated mainly because of the low diagnostic capacity of laboratories. In addition, the poor knowledge of factors favouring the transmission of the disease and the lack of adequate control measures strongly contribute to the dissemination of brucellosis in SSA. The aim of this review is to obtain recent data on the knowledge of the disease in SSA. The study shows that the disease is widely distributed within the animal populations in SSA, but with a variable prevalence. Brucellosis is also a serious threat to human health due to the lack of milk pasteurization and the close contact between animals and humans including livestock professionals. Improvement of the knowledge on the epidemiology brucellosis is necessary for the establishment of an effective control program against this disease in SSA.