Knowledge of brucellosis, health-seeking behaviour, and risk factors for Brucella infection amongst workers on cattle farms in Gauteng, South Africa
Brucellosis in humans is under-detected and underreported in sub-Saharan Africa. Risk factors associated with Brucella infection and health seeking behaviour in response to brucellosis-like symptoms, amongst cattle farm workers and veterinary officials in South Africa, are unknown. Farm workers and veterinary officials (N = 230) were screened for brucellosis using commercial Rose Bengal Test (RBT®), IgM Enzyme-linked Immunoassay (ELISA)®, IgG ELISA® and the BrucellaCapt® test. Knowledge of brucellosis and risk factors for exposure to Brucella were also investigated. Seroprevalence varied according to test used: 10.1% (RBT®), 20.9% (IgG ELISA®) and 6.5% (BrucellaCapt®). Only 22.2% (6/27) of veterinary officials opt to visit a clinic, doctor, or hospital in response to self-experienced brucellosis-like symptoms, compared to 74.9% (152/203) of farm workers (p < 0.001). Of the BrucellaCapt® seropositive participants, 53% (7/15) did not visit a clinic in response to brucellosis-like symptoms. Weak evidence of an association between the handling of afterbirth or placenta and infection of a short evolution (RBT®, IgM ELISA® and IgG ELISA® seropositive) was found (OR = 8.9, 95% CI: 1.0–81.1, p = 0.052), and strong evidence of an association between this outcome and the slaughter of cattle (OR = 5.3, 95% CI: 1.4–19.6, p = 0.013). There was strong evidence of a positive association between inactive/resolved infection and veterinary officials vs. farm workers exposed to seropositive herds (OR = 7.0, 95% CI: 2.4–20.2, p < 0.001), with a simultaneous negative association with the handling of afterbirth or placenta (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.3–11.3, p = 0.012). Findings suggest a proportion of undetected clinical cases of brucellosis amongst workers on cattle farms in Gauteng.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | article biblioteca |
| Language: | eng |
| Subjects: | S50 - Santé humaine, L73 - Maladies des animaux, surveillance épidémiologique, brucellose, maladie de l'homme, bovin, transmission des maladies, travailleur agricole, Enquête pathologique, facteur de risque, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_16411, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1122, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_29198, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1391, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2329, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_8684, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_28665, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_32668, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_7252, |
| Online Access: | http://agritrop.cirad.fr/599688/ http://agritrop.cirad.fr/599688/1/Govindasamy%2021%20KnowledgeBrucRiskFactorsWorkersCattleFarm_Gauteng_SA.pdf |
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