| Abstract: | Brucellosis is a key zoonosis of major public health, animal welfare andeconomic significance, and is endemic in livestock in Uganda. A cross-sectionalepidemiological study was carried out to estimate the sero-prevalence of brucellosis andidentify factors associated with sero-positivity in cattle in urban and peri-urban Guluand Soroti towns of Northern and Eastern Uganda, respectively. A total of 1007 sera anddata on biologically plausible risk factors from 166 herds and their spatial locations,were collected from cattle reared in urban and peri-urban Gulu and Soroti towns of Uganda.The sera were analyzed using indirect ELISA and sero-positive reactors confirmed bycompetitive ELISA. Multivariable models were used to investigate for risk factors. Theoverall animal-level and herd-level sero-prevalence was 7.5% (76/1007, 95% ConfidenceInterval (CI): 6.15–9.4%) and 27.1% (45/166, 95% CI: 20.9–34.3%), respectively. Herd-levelsero-prevalence was significantly (P<0.001) higher in Soroti thanGulu. In Gulu town, sero-positivity increased with an increase in herd size(P=0.03) and age (P=0.002), and was higher in cattlebrought in from western Uganda (P<0.0001). In Soroti town,introduction of new cattle into a herd was significantly (P=0.027)associated with herd sero-positivity. There was a geographically differential risk(clustering) of Brucella sero- positivity in herds in Soroti, whilesero-positivity was homogeneously distributed in Gulu. The data highlight brucellosisoccurrence and major risk factors for its transmission in cattle in urban and peri-urbanareas. |
