Brucellosis in human and domestic animals in Bangladesh: A review

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Organization of Animal Health (OIE), brucellosis is considered to be the most widespread zoonosis throughout the world. It is a neglected bacterial zoonotic disease in many countries including Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to review published reports of the brucellosis in humans and domestic animals (cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, pigs and dogs) in Bangladesh. The prevalence studies are based primarily on the following serological tests: Rose Bengal test (RBT), plate agglutination test (PAT), tube agglutination test (TAT), mercaptoethanol agglutination test (MET), standard tube agglutination test (STAT), slow agglutination test (SAT), milk ring test (MRT), indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbant assay (I-ELISA), competitive ELISA (C-ELISA), complement fixation test (CFT), fluorescent polarization assay (FPA); genus specific and species specific real time PCR. Seroprevalences of brucellosis were found to be affected by the sensitivity and specificity of serological tests employed. Brucellosis prevalence varied based on occupations of people (2.5-18.6%) and species of domestic animals (3.7% in cattle, 4.0% in buffalo, 3.6% in goats and 7.3% in sheep, 4.8% in pigs, 4% in dogs). The prevalence of brucellosis in humans was reported in farmers (2.6-21.6%), milkers (18.6%), butchers (2.5%) and veterinarians (5.3-11.1%) who have direct contact with domestic animals and their products or who consume raw milk. According to published reports, brucellosis does affect people and domestic animals of Bangladesh and there is only one published reports available on the characterization of the Brucella isolates of animals in Bangladesh at the species level. There is an immediate need for a concerted effort to control and eradicate brucellosis from domesticated animals in Bangladesh.