Epidemiology of brucellosis and q Fever in linked human and animal populations in northern togo

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 8; no. 8; p. e71501
• Main Authors: Dean, Anna S, Bonfoh, Bassirou, Kulo, Abalo E, Boukaya, G Aboudou, Amidou, Moussa, Hattendorf, Jan, Pilo, Paola, Schelling, Esther
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 12-08-2013; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Agriculture; Analysis; Animal populations; Animals; Beef cattle; Brucella; Brucella abortus - classification; Brucella abortus - genetics; Brucellosis; Brucellosis - epidemiology; Cattle; Child; Child, Preschool; Consent; Coxiella burnetii; Coxiella burnetii - classification; Dairy products; Diagnostic systems; Disease; Disease prevention; Economic impact; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Epidemiology; Ethics; Exposure; Female; Fetuses; Fever; Geography; Goats; Humans; Immunofluorescence; Impact analysis; Livestock; Livestock production; Male; Medicine; Middle Aged; Milk; Minority & ethnic groups; Populations; Public health; Q fever; Q Fever - epidemiology; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Sheep; Togo - epidemiology; Veterinary medicine; Veterinary Science; Young Adult; Zoonoses; Zoonoses - epidemiology; Togo; Middle East; Mali; Switzerland; Sub-Saharan Africa
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0071501

Although brucellosis (Brucella spp.) and Q Fever (Coxiella burnetii) are zoonoses of global importance, very little high quality data are available from West Africa.
A serosurvey was conducted in Togo's main livestock-raising zone in 2011 in 25 randomly selected villages, including 683 people, 596 cattle, 465 sheep and 221 goats. Additionally, 464 transhumant cattle from Burkina Faso were sampled in 2012. The serological analyses performed were the Rose Bengal Test and ELISA for brucellosis and ELISA and the immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for Q Fever Brucellosis did not appear to pose a major human health problem in the study zone, with only 7 seropositive participants. B. abortus was isolated from 3 bovine hygroma samples, and is likely to be the predominant circulating strain. This may explain the observed seropositivity amongst village cattle (9.2%, 95%CI:4.3-18.6%) and transhumant cattle (7.3%, 95%CI:3.5-14.7%), with an absence of seropositive small ruminants. Exposure of livestock and people to C. burnetii was common, potentially influenced by cultural factors. People of Fulani ethnicity had greater livestock contact and a significantly higher seroprevalence than other ethnic groups (Fulani: 45.5%, 95%CI:37.7-53.6%; non-Fulani: 27.1%, 95%CI:20.6-34.7%). Appropriate diagnostic test cut-off values in endemic settings requires further investigation. Both brucellosis and Q Fever appeared to impact on livestock production. Seropositive cows were more likely to have aborted a foetus during the previous year than seronegative cows, when adjusted for age. This odds was 3.8 times higher (95%CI: 1.2-12.1) for brucellosis and 6.7 times higher (95%CI: 1.3-34.8) for Q Fever.
This is the first epidemiological study of zoonoses in Togo in linked human and animal populations, providing much needed data for West Africa. Exposure to Brucella and C. burnetii is common but further research is needed into the clinical and economic impact.