Seroprevalence of Bovine Brucellosis in Selected Districts of Zambia

Brucellosis is an infectious zoonosis that has huge economic and public health implications globally. The disease is prevalent in humans, livestock and wildlife in Sub Saharan Africa. A cross-sectional study was conducted between 6th May 2017 and 31st July 2020 during which 1712 sera from 177 cattle herds in Southern, Western and Eastern provinces of Zambia was collected and screened against brucellosis. Rose Bengal Test and c-ELISA were used in serial testing for detection of antibodies against Brucella species. Results: A total of 127 animals and 37 herds tested positive, giving an overall individual and herd seroprevalence of 7.42% (CI: 0.61-0.86) and 20.9% respectively. Namwala district recorded the highest seroprevalence (12.2%) while Lundazi had the lowest (0%). A higher seropositivity was observed among female animals (8.5%), those aged between 11 and 17 years (14.1%) and pregnant cows (13.8%). Conclusions: Brucella seroprevalence among traditional cattle in Zambia remains high. It is vital that control programmes against bovine brucellosis are introduced in order to reduce its zoonotic impact on human health and increase animal production.