Brucellosis is an infectious zoonosis that has huge economic and public health implications globally. The disease is prevalent in humans, livestock and wildlife in Sub-Saharan Africa. A cross-sectional study was conducted between 6 May 2017 and 31 July 2020 during which 1712 sera from 175 cattle herds in five districts from Southern, Western and Eastern Provinces of Zambia were collected and screened against brucellosis. The Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and competitive Enzyme-linked Immuno Assay (c-ELISA) were used in serial testing for the detection of antibodies against Brucella species. A total of 127 animals from 37 herds tested positive, giving overall individual animal and herd-level seroprevalences of 7.53% (95% CI: 6.28–8.78%) and 21.14% (95% CI: 15.0–27.2%), respectively. Namwala district had the highest herd seroprevalence (33.9%, 95% CI: 21.6–46.1%), while Lundazi did not record any seropositivity. Comparably, Southern Province had the highest individual animal (8.97%, 95% CI: 7–11%) and herd-level (28.5%, 95% CI: 20.3–36.7%) seroprevalences, although this was not statistically significant. Within Southern Province, higher seropositivity was observed in Namwala district (OR: 8.55; CI: 2.66–27.44), among female animals (OR: 2.48; CI: 1.38–4.46) and in those aged 11 years and above (OR: 2.67; CI: 1.34–5.34) as well as in gravid cows (OR: 4.34; CI: 2.08–8.92). Seropositivity was also observed among some animals with hygromas (OR: 6.5; CI: 0.45–94.08) and those with a history of abortion (OR: 1.13; CI: 0.18–7.28) although the findings were not statistically significant. Brucella seroprevalence among traditional cattle in Zambia remains high. Control programs against bovine brucellosis must be introduced to reduce its impact on human health and animal production.

Bluetongue (BT) is an arthropod-borne viral disease of ruminants with serious trade and socio-economic implications. Although the disease has been reported in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa, there is currently no information on circulating serotypes and disease distribution in Zambia. Following surveillance for BT in domestic and wild ruminants in Zambia, BT virus (BTV) nucleic acid and antibodies were detected in eight of the 10 provinces of the country. About 40% (87/215) of pooled blood samples from cattle and goats were positive for BTV nucleic acid, while one hartebeest pool (1/43) was positive among wildlife samples. Sequence analysis of segment 2 revealed presence of serotypes 3, 5, 7, 12 and 15, with five nucleotypes (B, E, F, G and J) being identified. Segment 10 phylogeny showed Zambian BTV sequences clustering with Western topotype strains from South Africa, intimating likely transboundary spread of BTV in Southern Africa. Interestingly, two Zambian viruses and one isolate from Israel formed a novel clade, which we designated as Western topotype 4. The high seroprevalence (96.2%) in cattle from Lusaka and Central provinces and co-circulation of multiple serotypes showed that BT is widespread, underscoring the need for prevention and control strategies.

In recent years, Zambia and other countries have intensified their efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). In the animal health sector, farm characteristics significantly affect AMR dynamics through antimicrobial use (AMU). In this regard, monitoring these farm factors remains essential for providing insights into the relation between AMU and AMR. Previously, we have shown the feasibility of monitoring AMU at the farm level using the Veterinary Consumption of Antibiotics - International Documentation (VetCAb-ID) system (©TiHo Hannover, Germany). In this study, we describe the development and application of EpiF AMU , a tool designed to monitor factors essential to AMU and infection prevention and control at the farm level. This epidemiological tool can monitor a series of distinct epidemiological variables across 13 key domains of poultry management, namely nutrition, vaccination, biosecurity, brooding, housing, equipment, personnel, market practices, extension services, AMR, AMU, mortality rates, and public health. We utilized EpiF AMU to assess AMU factor patterns in 45 broiler chicken farms in the Lusaka district of Zambia. Using the Wilcoxon test, an analysis of treatment frequency per day and farm factors revealed statistical significance for six variables: the belief that maximum production cannot be achieved without antimicrobials ( p = 0.0393), the number of drinking water dispensing points ( p = 0.0242), vitamin supplementation ( p = 0.0328), vitamin administration prior to vaccination ( p = 0.0094), measures to improve chick survival ( p = 0.0324), and litter thickness ( p = 0.035). Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of monitoring farm factors alongside AMU monitoring programs to generate valuable insights into potential risk factors within poultry farms that may lead to the use of antimicrobials.