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Research Article

Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Livestock and Farmers’ Choice of Milk Marketing Channels in Rwamagana District, Rwanda

David Kiiza Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Thomas Denagamage Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Greg Kiker Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Fiona Maunsell Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Renata Serra Center for African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Lacey N. Harris-Coble Department of Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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Bibiana Benavides Department of Animal Health, University of Nariño, Pasto, Colombia

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Jorge A. Hernandez Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida;

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DOI:
https://doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.24-0410
Volume/Issue:
Ahead of Print
Open access
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Brucellosis remains an endemic disease in livestock populations in Rwanda, but the prevalence of the disease varies by geographic region. The common use of informal milk marketing channels represents a health hazard to humans when milk from Brucella-infected cows from one or more households is mixed with milk from other households for human consumption. In Rwanda, knowledge about the burden of brucellosis in livestock and factors associated with farmers’ choice of milk marketing channels is very limited. The objectives of this study were 1) to estimate the seroprevalence of brucellosis in livestock in Rwamagana District in Rwanda and 2) to estimate the frequency of and identify determinants associated with farmers’ choice of milk marketing channels. The seroprevalence of brucellosis in livestock at the household level was 1/160 (0.6%; 95% CI = 0.1–3.4%). Among 100 households that sold milk, 72 used informal milk trade channels. By the use of logistic regression, milk price and distance to closest milk collection center were positively associated with the use of informal milk marketing channels. Although the seroprevalence of brucellosis in livestock in Rwamagana District was low, the risk of disease transmission to humans through consumption of unpasteurized milk or milk products is not negligible. In this report, we present several policy options available to animal health authorities that can mitigate the risk of brucellosis disease transmission in populations.

Author Notes

Financial support: This work was funded in part by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Bureau for Resilience, Environment and Food Security under agreement no. AID-OAA-L-15-00003 as part of Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Livestock Systems, and by the University of Florida’s College of Veterinary Medicine (2021-2025 CVM PhD block grant award). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed here are those of the authors alone.

Current contact information: David Kiiza, Thomas Denagamage, Fiona Maunsell, and Jorge A. Hernandez, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mails: dkiiza@ufl.edu, tdenagamage@ufl.edu, maunsellf@ufl.edu, and hernandezja@ufl.edu. Greg Kiker, College of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: gkiker@ufl.edu. Renata Serra, Center for African Studies, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: rserra@ufl.edu. Lacey N. Harris-Coble, Department of Geography, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, E-mail: lharriscoble@ufl.edu. Bibiana Benavides, Department of Animal Health, University of Nariño, Pasto, Colombia, E-mail: bbenavides@udenar.edu.co.

Address correspondence to Jorge A. Hernandez, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32610. E-mail: hernandezja@ufl.edu
Copyright:
© The author(s) 2024
Received:
20 Jun 2024
|
Accepted:
17 Oct 2024
|
Published Online:
24 Dec 2024
Cover The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
The American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene
Print ISSN:
0002-9637
Online ISSN:
1476-1645
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