Sero-epidemiological survey and risk factors associated with bovine brucellosis among slaughtered cattle in Nigeria

Bovine brucellosis is endemic in Nigeria; however, limited data exist on nationwide studies and risk factors associated with the disease. Using a cross-sectional sero-epidemiological survey, we determined the prevalence of and risk factors for brucellosis in slaughtered cattle in three geographical regions of Nigeria. Serum samples from randomly selected unvaccinated cattle slaughtered over a period of 3 years (between December 2010 and September 2013) from northern, southern and south-western Nigeria were tested for antibodies to Brucella abortus using the Rose Bengal test. Data associated with risk factors of brucellosis were analysed by Stata Version 12. In all, 8105 cattle were screened. An overall seroprevalence of 3.9% (315/8105) was recorded by the Rose Bengal test, with 3.8%, 3.4% and 4.0% from the northern, southern and south-western regions, respectively. Bivariate analysis showed that cattle screened in northern Nigeria were less likely to be seropositive for antibodies to Brucella spp. than those from south-western Nigeria (odds ratio = 0.94; 95% confidence interval: 0.73–1.22). However, logistic regression analysis revealed that breed ( p = 0.04) and sex ( p £ 0.0001) of cattle were statistically significant for seropositivity to Brucella spp. The study found that brucellosis was endemic at a low prevalence among slaughtered cattle in Nigeria, with sex and breed of cattle being significant risk factors. Considering the public health implications of brucellosis, we advocate coordinated surveillance for the disease among diverse cattle populations in Nigeria, as is carried out in most developed countries. Keywords: Bovine brucellosis, RBT, Epidemiology, Public Health, Nigeri

A multi-state survey of farm-level preparedness towards African swine fever outbreak in Nigeria

Outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF) have severe economic implications for Nigeria and result in significant loss of livelihoods. The non-availability of vaccines makes biosecurity the reliable key to reducing ASF outbreaks. This study evaluated preparedness for ASF outbreaks at the farm level among 247 pig farmers randomly selected from Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Edo, Kwara, and Oyo states. We categorized each pig farmer's ASF preparedness rating (ASF - PR) as "poor", "moderate", and "satisfactory" based on their score on an 11-item scale. Finally, a multivariable logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between the socio-demographic variables and farm-level ASF preparedness. The awareness of ASF among pig farmers was very high (87.9%, n = 217). Most farmers knew the clinical signs of the disease, the modes of transmission of ASF, and correctly identified the risk factors. They also considered the need for thorough cleaning and disinfection of piggeries (87.1%, n = 189), tightened biosecurity (85.7%, n = 186), culling all ASF-affected pigs (77.9%, n = 169) as well as the ban on the transport of pigs and their products (49.8%, n = 108) as very important in ASF control. Conversely, 27.6%, (n = 60) of the farmers thought ASF could affect humans, 12% (n = 27) of them openly discarded the carcasses of dead pigs, and there was a high antibiotic usage. Most of the pig farmers used antibiotics as prophylaxis (63.6%, n = 157), chemotherapeutics (66.4%, n = 164), growth promoters (15.4%, n = 38), and wrongly so, 13% (n = 32) of them thought that antibiotics could be used to prevent and treat ASF. At the farm level, two-thirds (68.8%, n = 170) of the farmers had strict movement restrictions, and 48.6% (n = 120) routinely quarantine new pigs before introduction into their herd. Across the five states, 36% (n = 89) of the farmers had witnessed sudden death with signs consistent with ASF amongst their pigs and only 10.1% (n = 27) had confirmatory ASF diagnosis. The mean score for the farm-level ASF-PR was 6.95 & PLUSMN; 2.7. Approximately onequarter of the 247 pig farmers had satisfactory ASF - PR that might help to prevent the incursion of ASF into their farms. Most farmers had moderate ASF - PR (59.5%, n = 147) whereas 17% (n = 42) had very poor ASF-PR and were most prone to an ASF outbreak. Of the sociodemographic variables, only age was significantly associated with farm-level ASF preparedness as older pig farmers especially those aged between 50 and 59 years (OR: 4.83; 95% CI: 1.10, 21.22; p = 0.037) were more likely to have satisfactory ASF - PR than the others. Our findings showed pig farmers were not adequately prepared and the next ASF outbreak could pose more significant threat to pig populations across Nigeria. Government should urgently establish minimum biosecurity measures and improve its ASF surveillance mechanisms for commercial and backyard pig production.Peer reviewe