Incidence and seasonal prevalence among an occupationally-exposed population to brucellosis

The present three-year longitudinal study has clearly demonstrated the advantages of modern and scientific livestock management over the traditional and extensive methods of animal husbandry in the prevention and control of bovine and human Brucella abortus infection. The occupational hazard, in relation to brucellosis, to which livestock farmers are exposed in Oyo State is closely related to the level of infection in the animal population, the level of environmental contamination and hygiene on the farm. This study has also revealed that many farmers could acquire subclinical brucellosis within two years of constant occupational exposure to source of infection. There was no seasonal variation found in the prevalence of brucella infection among the human and cattle population studied at the I.A.R.T. farm in Ibadan: climatic variation is therefore considered to play no important role in the prevalence of brucellosis in Southern Nigeria.