Brucellosis in the Addis Ababa dairy cattle: the myths and the realities

BACKGROUND: Bovine brucellosis is considered as an important disease among livestock and people in sub-Saharan African countries including Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2016 to May 2017 to estimate the prevalence and associated risk factors, and to assess knowledge-attitude and practices (KAP) of farm workers about bovine brucellosis in Addis Ababa dairy farms. RESULTS: A total of 1550 cattle from 127 dairy farms were serially tested using the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), Competitive Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbant Assay (c-ELISA) and Complement Fixation Test (CFT). Forty-three (2.77%) of the collected sera were positive by the RBPT and only one of these was positive by c-ELISA (0.06%) and none was positive by CFT. The knowledge of farm workers towards the disease was very low and risk factors associated with Brucella infection were apparent in the study area. CONCLUSION: Seropositivity for Brucella spp. was found in only a very small percentage by c-ELISA test, although risk factors for transmitting Brucella infection were present. The results suggest that bovine brucellosis is currently not a generalized problem in dairy cattle of Addis Ababa. Since this favorable disease situation is not the result of informed policy, there is no guarantee that it will continue unchanged. Setting clear policy in control of the disease and implementing “One Health” are the most constructive approaches recommended. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s12917-018-1709-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.