Brucellosis testing patterns at health facilities in Arusha region, northern Tanzania.

Autor: Lukambagire AS; College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College-Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, Tanzania., Shirima GM; The Nelson Mandela African Institution for Science and Technology, Arusha, Tanzania., Shayo DD; Regional Health Management Team, Arusha Regional Medical Office, Arusha, Tanzania., Mathew C; College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania., Yapi RB; Centre d'Entomologie Médicale et Vétérinaire Université Alassane Ouattara, Bouaké, Côte d'Ivoire.; Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques en Côte d'Ivoire, Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire., Kasanga CJ; College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania., Mmbaga BT; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College-Kilimanjaro Clinical Research Institute, Moshi, Tanzania.; Kilimanjaro Christian Medical University College, Moshi, Tanzania.; Duke Global Health Institute, Durham, North Carolina, United States of America., Kazwala RR; College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania., Halliday JEB; Institute of Biodiversity, Animal Health & Comparative Medicine, College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, United Kingdom.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2022 Mar 23; Vol. 17 (3), pp. e0265612. Date of Electronic Publication: 2022 Mar 23 (Print Publication: 2022).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265612
Abstrakt: Background: Brucellosis is listed as one of six priority zoonoses in Tanzania's One Health strategic plan which highlights gaps in data needed for the surveillance and estimation of human brucellosis burdens. This study collected data on current testing practices and test results for human brucellosis in Arusha region, northern Tanzania.
Methods: Retrospective data were extracted from records at 24 health facilities in Arusha region for the period January 2012 to May 2018. Data were captured on: the test reagents used for brucellosis, procurement and testing protocols, the monthly number of patients tested for brucellosis and the monthly number testing positive. Generalised linear mixed models were used to evaluate relationships between health facility characteristics and the probability that brucellosis testing was conducted in a given month, and the proportion of individuals testing positive.
Results: Four febrile Brucella agglutination tests were used widely. The probability of testing for brucellosis in a given month was significantly associated with an interaction between year of testing and facility ownership. Test probability increased over time with more pronounced increases in privately owned as compared to government facilities. The proportion of individuals testing positive for brucellosis was significantly associated with facility type and district, with individuals tested in hospitals in Meru, Monduli and Ngorongoro districts more likely to test positive.
Conclusions: Febrile Brucella agglutination tests, known for their poor performance, were the mainstay of brucellosis testing at health facilities in northern Tanzania. The study indicates that historical data on human brucellosis in Arusha and other regions are likely to provide an inaccurate measure of true disease burden due to poor performance of the tests used and variation in testing practices. Measures to address these identified shortcomings could greatly improve quality of testing and surveillance data on brucellosis and ultimately inform prevention and control of this priority disease.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Databáze: MEDLINE
Externí odkaz:
Nepřihlášeným uživatelům se plný text nezobrazuje