Author(s)

Etanguno Effiong Owowo¹, Ukponobong Effiong Antia¹, Mary Anthony Christopher¹, Iquo Effiong Okon²

¹Department of Microbiology, Akwa Ibom State University, Mkpat Enin, Nigeria.
²Health Initiative for Stability & Safety in Africa (HIFASS), Uyo, Nigeria.

Brucellosis is a reemerging zoonotic disease that causes more than half a million infections to humans every year. The disease is common in most developing countries, the human mortality rate is about 2%, and the disease causes severe rheumatism, infertility in males, spontaneous abortion and also results in wastage of resources through prolonged treatment. Brucella organisms are also potential biological weapon which could be cheaper to produce but more devastating than chemical weapons. About 5 mililitres of blood was drawn from 228 subjects using sterile vacutainers and analyzed by using standard tube agglutination tests: (SAT³ 160) and ELISA (IgG, IgM) kits specific for Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis antibodies. Semi structured questionnaire was administered to collect data. In the study, overall sero prevalence was 70 (30.8%). More male participated in the study with a frequency of 24.6% of whom 7.92% falls within the age group of 20 to 30, followed by 31 - 35 years with 5.72% and 3.52% within 36 - 45 years. Least affected were those in the age groups above 46 years (2.20%). Approximately, 21.54% of the subjects had formal education either at Quranic, primary and secondary or tertiary level. Majority acquired Quranic education (9.68%), 7.48% primary and 0.88% had tertiary training. A total of 21 (9.24%) never acquired any form of education. Headache, muscle aches, malaise, chills and fatigue were the most common clinical signs and symptoms experienced by about 30% among the participants. In the distribution of Brucella antibodies, ELISA diagnostic kits showed high sensitivity with the prevalence rate of 18.04% (n = 41) followed by SAT 12.76% (n = 29). The sensitivity and specificity of RDPT kits were 37 % and 69%, with a positive and negative predictive value of 18% and 86% respectively. Unprocessed milk from the market and consumption of unboiled milk were associated with brucellosis. Therefore, patients with brucellosis should be treated to prevent the devastating effect of the disease and the accompanying sequelae, public health education programs should explain modes of transmission and Brucella febrile diagnostic kit should be used at the health facilities.

Brucella, Zoonotic, Nomadic Herdsmen, Rapid Brucella Diagnostic Kits, Nigeria

Owowo, E. , Antia, U. , Christopher, M. and Okon, I. (2019) Sero-Prevalence of Brucellosis among Nomadic Herdsmen, Abattoir and Livestock Workers in Niger-Delta Region, Nigeria. Journal of Biosciences and Medicines, 7, 32-41. doi: 10.4236/jbm.2019.710003.