Prevalence of tuberculosis and brucellosis in urban and peri-urban dairy cattle farms in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

A study of the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis was conducted in dairy cattle farms in and around the city of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. It reveals the potential economic and health impact of these two major zoonoses in the study area. Three farming systems were included in the study. A total of 1,420 cattle were tested for tuberculosis and 1,689 cattle were tested for brucellosis. The intradermal tuberculin test was used for tuberculosis, and the buffered antigen test and indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay were used for brucellosis. The overall prevalence rate is estimated to be 6.05% for tuberculosis and 3.61% for brucellosis. The prevalence rates of tuberculosis and brucellosis in urban and peri-urban dairy cattle farms in Ouagadougou were found to be high. As these two production-linked diseases are zoonotic, they could pose a major risk to human health and contribute significantly to reducing animal production and productivity in the areas covered by the study. Animals should be checked systematically prior to introducing them into dairy herds, with the ultimate goal of eradicating these two zoonoses.