Epidemiological investigation of brucellosis in breeding female cattle under the traditional production system of Jimma zone in Ethiopia

Bovine brucellosis is a serious zoonotic infectious disease with widespread occurrence in developing countries like Ethiopia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2017 to November 2018 to investigate the prevalence and associated risk factors of brucellosis in breeding female cattle under the traditional production system of the Jimma zone in Ethiopia. Blood samples were collected from a total of 423 breeding female cattle to test the presence of Brucella antibody. The presence of antibody against Brucella spp. was serially tested first by the Rose Bengal Plate test, then positive sera were confirmed using the complement fixation test. Potential risk factors for Brucella seropositivity were analyzed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. An overall 11.6% (95%CI: 6.25–16.94) and 4.3% (95%CI: 2.15–5.89) seroprevalence of brucellosis was recorded at herd and animal level, respectively in study areas. We identified age (OR=9.6, 95% CI: 2.08–44.07), breed (OR=4.5, 95%CI: 1.54–12.99), herd size (OR=10.4, 95%CI: 1.27–85.04) and species composition (OR=4.4, 95%CI: 1.31–14.89) as risk factors for Brucella infection. Herd level analysis of risk factor shows that herds kept with sheep and/goats was at higher risk (OR=3.7, 95% CI: 1.25–11.17) of acquired Brucella infection. This result showed that brucellosis was a widely spread disease in the study areas. Thus, important to carry out appropriate control methods and creating awareness on public zoonotic transmissions of brucellosis are recommended. Moreover, further investigation should be carried out to isolate and characterized brucellosis as a cause of reproduction problems in the study areas.