Prevalence of brucellosis in cattle and adopted control measures in South Africa from 2014 to 2019

Bovine brucellosis is a neglected zoonotic disease in developing countries, endemic, and a growing challenge to public health. The development of cost-effective control measures for the disease can only be affirmed by knowledge of the disease epidemiology and the ability to define its risk profiles. This study aimed to document the trend of bovine brucellosis and the control measures adopted following reported cases from 2014 to 2019 in South Africa. The data on confirmed cases of bovine brucellosis was retrieved from the website of the World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH). Descriptive analysis and the Analysis of variance (ANOVA) were utilized for significance (p<0.05). The data retrieved revealed an overall average bovine brucellosis prevalence rate of 8.48%. There were significant differences in bovine brucellosis prevalence across the provinces in 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, and 2019 (p<0.05). Provinces with generally lower annual temperatures, namely KwaZulu Natal, Western Cape, and Free State, had higher prevalences of bovine brucellosis, while disease trends for Gauteng, Northern Cape, and Eastern Cape provinces were not easy to establish due to missing data for some of the years falling within the study period. The study identified gaps in the reporting of bovine brucellosis and documentation of disease control measures in the country. The present study not only identified these gaps but also proposed the need for future studies that detect the prevalence of cattle brucellosis at the animal/ herd level. This recommendation, if implemented, can provide further insights into the disease situation in South Africa and pave the way for more effective control measures.