Prevalence study for camel and human Brucellosis in Mid Rift Valley

A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine the seroprevalence of camel and human brucellosis and to assess the association between risk factors and sero-prevalence in Mid Rift Valley of Ethiopia from September 2013 to April 2014. Multi-stage sampling procedure was used. In the study 768 camel and 250 human sera were screened for Brucella antibodies using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT). Rose Bengal Plate Test positive sera were further tested using Complement Fixation Test (CFT) as per OIE recommendation. The herd-level  seroprevalence was 36.5% (70/192). In addition herding experience did also affect the status of  seroprevalence among the respective categories (p<0.05); but reproductive status did not significantly affect the status of  seroprevalence (p>0.05). History of abortion, fetal membrane retention and stillbirth were found to be significantly (p=0.000, p=0.004 and p=0.000) associated with brucellosis. Out of 250 persons (male and female) tested 15 were RBPT positives and the RBPT positive samples were tested using CFT accordingly all of them were seropositive, the positive reactor being  shepherds. There was a high risk of acquiring the infection during retention of fetal membranes (p=0.000) and for people who were both in contact with animals and drank raw milk (p=0.001). In conclusion the study showed that camel and human brucellosis were prevalent in the study area and appropriate control measures need to be introduced to alleviate the disease problem in the region