Browsing by Author "Matemba, L. E."
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Item Epidemiology of Brucella infection in the human, livestock and wildlife interface in the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem, Tanzania(BMC Veterinary Research, 2015) Assenga, J. A.; Matemba, L. E.; Muller, S. K.; Muller, S. K.; Malakalinga, J. J.; Kazwala, R. R.Background: Brucellosis is a zoonosis of public health importance worldwide. In Tanzania, the disease is underreported due to insufficient awareness, inadequate diagnostic protocols, including lack of appropriate reagents for diagnosis. Livestock and wildlife are considered potential sources of infection to humans; however, the role played by these carriers in the epidemiology of the disease in the ecosystems in Tanzania is not fully understood. The objective of this study was to establish the prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies in humans, wildlife and livestock; and molecular prevalence of Brucella spp in cattle and goats in the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem. Results: Anti-Brucella antibodies were detected in humans at 0.6 % (95 % CI: 0.1, 2.1 %); cattle at 6.8 % (95 % CI: 5.4, 8.5 %), goats at 1.6 % (95 % CI: 0.4, 4.1 %) and buffaloes at 7.9 % (95 % CI: 1.7, 21.4 %). One of the two sampled lions tested positive. Cattle had a significantly higher prevalence of anti-Brucella antibodies as compared to goats (P < 0.05). A significantly higher seroprevalence was found in female than in male cattle and in adult than in young cattle (P < 0.05). There was an agreement of 95 and 89 % in cattle and goats, respectively, for the Rose Bengal plate Test (RBPT) and Competitive Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (c-ELISA) in detecting Brucella infection. Eight (3.5 %) out of 231 milk samples tested were positive for Brucella spp on Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and Brucella abortus biovar 1 was detected in cattle milk. However, no Brucella spp were detected in goat milk. Conclusion: This study has shown the presence of anti- Brucella antibodies in humans, livestock, and wildlife in the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem. Transmission of the infection between wildlife, livestock and humans is likely to continue due to increasing human activities in the human wildlife interface. This information is an important contribution to public health policy development in the human wildlife interface of the Katavi- Rukwa ecosystem.Item Knowledge, perceptions and practices regarding brucellosis in pastoral communities of Kagera Region, Tanzania(TANZANIA VETERINARY ASSOCIATION, 2017) Ntirandekura, J. B.; Matemba, L. E.; Ngowi, H. A.; Karimuribo, E. D.; Kimera, S. I.A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2017 to assess the knowledge, perception and practices of brucellosis by pastoralists of Kagera ecosystem, Tanzania using qualitative methods. Five focus group discussions of six participants were conducted with livestock farmers, administration leaders, religious representatives and youth. In addition, discussions with three key informants were conducted, involving officials of livestock, wildlife and public health department in each district. Data were analyzed using content analysis with inductive and deductive methods. This study revealed low knowledge regarding brucellosis by interviewees. Although participants recognized brucellosis as a zoonotic disease, they seemed to consider it of less importance. In addition, participants had low knowledge on causes, symptoms and mode of transmission of this disease. However, they perceived the interactions between humans, livestock and wildlife together with the neighborhood with other countries to be potential risks for introduction of brucellosis in their communities. Moreover, their habit of drinking unpasteurized milk, the lack of protective gears assisting animals giving birth and poor vaccination program need to be improved by community health education. A coordinated one Health approach is needed and further studies are suggested to reveal the status of brucellosis in Kagera ecosystem to guide its control and prevention.Item Knowledge, perceptions and practices regarding brucellosis in pastoral communities of Kagera Region, Tanzania(TANZANIA VETERINARY ASSOCIATION, 2017) Ntirandekura, J. B.; Matemba, L. E.; Ngowi, H. A.; Kimera, S. I.; Karimuribo, E. D.A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2017 to assess the knowledge, perception and practices of brucellosis by pastoralists of Kagera ecosystem, Tanzania using qualitative methods. Five focus group discussions of six participants were conducted with livestock farmers, administration leaders, religious representatives and youth. In addition, discussions with three key informants were conducted, involving officials of livestock, wildlife and public health department in each district. Data were analyzed using content analysis with inductive and deductive methods. This study revealed low knowledge regarding brucellosis by interviewees. Although participants recognized brucellosis as a zoonotic disease, they seemed to consider it of less importance. In addition, participants had low knowledge on causes, symptoms and mode of transmission of this disease. However, they perceived the interactions between humans, livestock and wildlife together with the neighborhood with other countries to be potential risks for introduction of brucellosis in their communities. Moreover, their habit of drinking unpasteurized milk, the lack of protective gears assisting animals giving birth and poor vaccination program need to be improved by community health education. A coordinated one Health approach is needed and further studies are suggested to reveal the status of brucellosis in Kagera ecosystem to guide its control and prevention.Item Predominant Leptospiral Serogroups circulating among humans, livestock and wildlife in Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem, Tanzania(PLOS Neglected Tropical Disease, 2015-03-25) Assenga, J. A.; Matemba, L. E.; Muller, S. K.; Mhamphi, G. G.; Kazwala, R. R.Background: Leptospirosis is a worldwide zoonotic disease and a serious, under-reported public health problem, particularly in rural areas of Tanzania. In the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem, humans, livestock and wildlife live in close proximity, which exposes them to the risk of a number of zoonotic infectious diseases, including leptospirosis. Methodology/Principal Findings: A cross-sectional epidemiological study was carried out in the Katavi region, South-west Tanzania, to determine the seroprevalence of Leptospira spp in humans, domestic rumi- nants and wildlife. Blood samples were collected from humans (n = 267), cattle (n = 1,103), goats (n = 248), buffaloes (n = 38), zebra (n = 2), lions (n = 2), rodents (n = 207) and shrews (n = 11). Decanted sera were tested using the Microscopic Agglutination Test (MAT) for an- tibodies against six live serogroups belonging to the Leptospira spp , with a cutoff point of 1:160. The prevalence of leptospiral antibodies was 29.96% in humans, 30.37% in cattle, 8.47% in goats, 28.95% in buffaloes, 20.29% in rodents and 9.09% in shrews. Additionally, one of the two samples in lions was seropositive. A significant difference in the prevalence P < 0.05 was observed between cattle and goats. No significant difference in prevalence was observed with respect to age and sex in humans or any of the sampled animal species. The most prevalent serogroups with antibodies of Leptospira spp were Sejroe, Hebdoma- dis, Grippotyphosa, Icterohaemorrhagie and Australis, which were detected in humans, cattle, goats and buffaloes; Sejroe and Grippotyphosa, which were detected in a lion; Aus- tralis, Icterohaemorrhagie and Grippotyphosa, which were detected in rodents; and Austra- lis, which was detected in shrews. Antibodies to serogroup Ballum were detected only in humans. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate that leptospiral antibodies are widely prevalent in hu- mans, livestock and wildlife from the Katavi-Rukwa ecosystem. The disease poses a seri- ous economic and public health threat in the study area. This epidemiological study provides information on circulating serogroups, which will be essential in designing inter- vention measures to reduce the risk of disease transmission.