Brucellosis remains a neglected zoonotic disease among agro-pastoral communities where unprocessed milk and milk products are consumed. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Kiboga district to determine the seroprevalence and risk factors associated with human brucellosis in communities where livestock rearing in a common practice. A total of 235 participants were involved in the study. Blood samples from the participants were collected and screened for Brucella using Serum Agglutination Test and Rose Bengal Plate Test. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics and human brucellosis related risk factors. Human Brucella seroprevalence was at 17.0 % (n = 235). The prevalence was highest among males (20.5 %, n = 78) and the elderly - above 60 years (22.2 %, n = 18). Residence in rural areas (OR 3.16, 95 % CI: 1.16–8.56), consuming locally processed milk products (OR 2.54, 95 % CI: 1.12–5.78) and being single (OR 2.44, 95 % CI: 1.05–5.68), were associated with increased risk of brucellosis. Human brucellosis seroprevalence was high at 17 %, this was parallel with animal brucellosis prevalence that has been reported to range from 10.2 % to 25.7 % in cattle in the region. The participants were from communities known to habitually consume raw milk and milk products, know to process milk products using bare hands which are major risk factors for brucellosis in humans. This also explains why consumption of unpasteurized milk products was associated with the occurrence of brucellosis in study area. This strengthened the argument that humans get infected through consumption of contaminated animal products as reported in other earlier studies. Males and elderly being more affected because of traditional roles of these groups they play in livestock care and management. The single were also to be more associated to brucellosis, due to the fact that this group consume milk and milk products more as it is readily available in the informal markets as highly nutritious fast foods in this community as also observed in USA. Brucellosis is highly prevalent in Kiboga district, and therefore, an important public health problem. The transmission risk was aggravated by consumption of unpasteurized milk products, residing in rural settings and being single. There is a need to initiate screening, treat infected humans early, and educate the public about risk factors and appropriate preventive measures of brucellosis.

Background. Poultry production in Uganda is growing at a fast rate due to increasing demand, notwithstanding, poor husbandry practices, and diseases, prompting farmers to rear healthy productive flocks with antimicrobials. The study evaluated the knowledge and practices as regards the use of antibiotics among poultry farmers in Masindi district and determined the antibiotic susceptibility profiles of E. coli strains from chickens. Methods. A cross‐sectional study using a closed‐end questionnaire was conducted in 140 selected small‐scale commercial poultry farms in Masindi district between June and December, 2020. Analyzed qualitative data were presented as frequencies, percentages, and their 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Fecal swabs from chickens were inoculated onto a MacConkey agar, and E. coli was confirmed by standard biochemical tests. Antimicrobial susceptibility was determined by the disk diffusion method for 7 antibiotics. Results. Most farmers (74%) used antibiotics, mainly tetracycline (51.4%) and sulfonamides (28.6%), given to the chicks (45%), for both curative and prophylaxis purposes (80%), and via drinking water (67%). Farmers mainly used antibiotics recommended by the veterinarian (76.4%), more than relying on experience (10.7%), while 45% were involved in self‐medicating the birds. On choosing the correct dosage, 45.7% read the instruction, and 42.9% consulted a veterinarian. Only 10.7% observed the drug withdrawal period, while 53.6% consumed eggs at home or sold eggs (35.7%) from birds under treatment. Of the 200 E. coli strains, 90 (45.0%) were resistant to one drug, 74 (37.0%) to two, and multidrug resistance to three classes of antibiotics was 36 (18.0%). Overall, E. coli resistance to tetracycline was (69.0%), ampicillin (37.0%), sulfonamides (36.0%), and to kanamycin (1.5%). Conclusions. The small‐scale poultry farmers frequently use antimicrobial drugs, mainly tetracycline and sulfonamides for curative and prophylaxis. Thus, enforcing measures against antibiotic use supported by a strong veterinary service sector and farmers’ training on judicious use of antimicrobials are needed.

The informal milk value chain in Uganda controls most of the raw marketed milk, albeit of poor quality. A study was conducted to assess the milk handling practices, the bacterial quality and the associated health concerns of raw milk along the informal milk value in Nakasongola District. The cross-sectional study used both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain information from key players. The qualitative data was categorized and presented into emerging themes. Bacterial contamination of 200 milk samples was determined by morphological and biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility test was done by the disc diffusion method.Hand milking was carried out mainly by men (92.5%), and most never or rarely practised hand washing (67.5%) during milking. Milk was mainly delivered to mobile milk-collecting centres located under tree shades (50%). The quality of raw milk was affected by poor hygienic, handling and transportation practices. Most participants (75%) were aware of the dangers of drinking raw milk and the requirements to transport milk in metallic cans. Viable bacterial counts above the recommended limit were recorded in 76 samples (38%) that included Staphylococcus aureus (46%), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (29%), Escherichia coli (12%), Streptococcus agalactiae (8%) and Salmonella spp. (5%). The overall antibiotic resistance was 45% (34/76), which included resistant isolates of S. aureus (17/34), coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (11/22), S. agalactiae (3/6), Salmonella spp. (2/4) and E. coli (2/9).The raw milk contaminated with antibiotic drug-resistant bacterial pathogens is of public health concern. Thus, measures to improve the quality of milk need to be designed for the pastoral community in Nakasongola district.

Brucellosis is a worldwide and zoonotic disease often sadly misdiagnosed in endemic areas. Challenges of availability and accessibility of diagnostic tools are common in resource constrained populations where the most vulnerable are found, surveillance and diagnosis are limited too. A cross-sectional study using a simple two stage cluster sampling method was conducted to measure short evolution brucellosis burden among cattle keeping households that are one of the highest risk populations to be exposed to Brucella infection. A total of 216 households were randomly selected from 18 rural villages from the Western Region of Uganda. Household blood samples were tested for Brucella antibodies using the highly sensitive Rose Bengal test (RBT) and IgM ELISA Lateral Flow Assay (LFA). Among the total tested population, 58.8% did not react with any of the tests, 13.4% reacted with both tests. Among those that reacted with both (N = 29), 62.1% had weak (+ 1) LFA staining, 34.5% had moderate (2+) LFA staining. Altogether, both weak and moderate staining (96.5%) are consistent with sub-acute disease, while only one (3.4%) had strong (3+) LFA staining consistent with acute infection. 19.4% of the samples tested positive only with RBT, consistent with chronic infection, eighteen samples (8.3%) reacted exclusively with IgM LFA. We identified a high prevalence of short evolution brucellosis in the cattle keeping household members. Prevalence of chronic infection diagnosed with RBT only was higher than the prevalence of short evolution brucellosis. IgM LFA results depict possible cases of cross reaction with Salmonella spp., Plasmodium etc. Ultimately, we identified a consistent prevalence of short evolution brucellosis in the cattle keeping household members. Indeed, the use of a combined diagnostic with LFA and RBT is easy and amenable for an active disease surveillance and accurate diagnosis in rural settings.

Antimicrobial resistance is an emerging problem in both humans and animals due to misuse and excessive use of drugs. Resistance in commensal E. coli isolates can be used to predict emergence of resistance in other gut microflora. The aim of this study is to determine the phylogenetic groups and antimicrobial resistance patterns of E. coli from healthy chickens in Uganda. The phylogenetic grouping of 120 fecal E. coli isolates from eastern and central Uganda was derived using the triplex PCR assay and their susceptibility patterns determined by agar disc diffusion method to 5 antimicrobial drugs. Most E. coli is segregated into phylogenetic group A comprising 84%, while 12% and 4% were in groups D and B1, respectively. Similarly most E. coli from central (87%) and eastern Uganda (82%) belonged to group A. Overall, 85 (70%) of E. coli were resistant to antimicrobial drugs, of which 72/101 (70%) are in PG A, 10 of 14 (71.4%) in PG D, and 3 of 5 (60%) in PG B1. Significantly, most of the isolates in PG A from both central (66.7%) and (60.6%) eastern Uganda were resistant to one antimicrobial. Resistance to tetracycline alone or in combination with other drugs for central and eastern Uganda in PG A is 51% and 55%, respectively. Multidrug resistance to tetracycline and ciprofloxacin or nalidixic acid was 10% and 18% in isolates from central and 10% and 12% in isolates from eastern region, respectively. Phylogenetic group A accounts for most of the E. coli in chicken from Uganda. No difference in the resistance rates between the phylogenetic groups of E. coli has been observed. The high prevalence of resistant E. coli strains from different phylogenetic groups in healthy chickens suggests antimicrobial drug selection pressure due to excessive drug in the rearing layer chickens.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease usually acquired through direct contact with the infected animals and consumption of contaminated milk and meat products. In humans Brucellosis presents similar signs with other febrile diseases like Malaria, typhoid and other febrile conditions. This study was carried out to determine the prevalence of Brucella abortus among patients with fever but were negative for Malaria. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Namayumba Health Centre IV, Wakiso district involving 200 participants. Blood samples was screened for B. abortus using Serum Agglutination Test and confirmed with Tube Agglutination test. A questionnaire was used to collect data on socio-demographic characteristics and human Brucellosis related risk factors. Human B. abortus sero-prevalence was at 7.5% (n = 200). The prevalence was high among participants aged 18–35 years (13.3%), muslims 12 (14.0%), those with no formal education (33.3%) and divorced 2 (14.3%). Consuming of raw milk (OR 2.162, 95% CI 0.021–1.379) and being a Muslim (OR 6.101, 95% CI 1.601–23.248) were associated with increased risk of Brucella abortus. It was concluded that human Brucella infection due to Brucella abortus is commonly associated with consumers of raw milk products and muslims in Wakiso district.