In the area of Zenica-Doboj Canton (ZDK), 34 patients with brucellosis were recorded in the first half of the year, which is more than the number of reported cases for the whole of 2022, 2021 or 2020. It is an alarm for experts, epidemiologists, veterinarians, but also for the whole community. As the Institute for Health and Food Safety points out, brucellosis is the most frequently registered zoonosis in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It has been present throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina for many years, to a greater or lesser extent, so we can talk about the presence of an endemic hotspot that has great public health significance, the Institute for Health and Food Safety in Zenica points out.
The largest number of patients in the territory of BiH, the Federation of BiH, and the ZDK was in 2018, when an epidemic was declared in the territory of BiH. At that time, 217 reported cases were recorded in ZDK alone, and 778 in FBiH. With the introduction of animal vaccination since 2009, the number of brucellosis patients has decreased, as shown in the graph of the number of reported cases in ZDK and FBiH.
According to data from the National Institute of Health, examining the distribution of the disease by age group, it is found that brucellosis is present in all age groups, that the largest number of patients are between the ages of 25 and 49 (43.7 percent), that the largest number of patients are through professional exposure, which corresponds to the fact that brucellosis is an occupational disease.
However, the number of patients in other age groups suggests that consumption of unpasteurized milk and dairy products is a significant route of infection. These facts speak of the need for increased inspection supervision and increased control over foods of animal origin, experts warn.
Since its establishment in 2016, the Zenica Institute for Health and Food Safety has been pointing to the presence of brucellosis as a significant disease in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and measures for its detection, monitoring, diagnosis and removal of sick animals based on the principles of “One health”. This implies cooperation with the owners/owners of animals, veterinary organizations, epidemiological services, competent ministries and other entities to improve the situation regarding this very dangerous zoonosis.
“The appearance of a large number of new cases of brucellosis in humans since the beginning of this year 2023 in the area of ZDK and FBIH is a signal to once again point out this zoonosis, a disease that affects both humans and animals, where the sources of infection are domestic animals and their products. Brucellosis not only threatens the health of people and animals, but also the economic status of the community, therefore it is more than necessary to point out again the necessary measures to detect and suppress,” say INZ.
It is an infectious disease from the group of zoonoses, which is caused by bacteria that are primarily transmitted between animals and cause disease in different types of animals, from which they pass to humans (direct contact with sick animals or indirectly with products from sick animals that in the production process are not sufficiently heat treated).
As a prerequisite for the control of primarily brucellosis, but also other infectious diseases, with the aim of improving the provision of diagnostic testing services, the Veterinary Institute of the INZ has equipped the laboratories of the Veterinary Institute, both in terms of material and technical resources, as well as in terms of staff competence, and they have been trained for the implementation of accredited diagnostic methods for this disease.
Some of the measures to protect farmers are to have protective equipment (rubber gloves, aprons, boots, masks, glasses) when handling bodily excreta and animal waste, while the consumption of milk and milk products should only be done after heat-treated milk, i.e. after its pasteurization. As stated, the disease has serious consequences for public health, both for people’s health and for the country’s economy, which is why it is necessary to emphasize the importance of more active surveillance of this disease, as well as the implementation of measures to prevent risk factors.
The first indicators that animals are infected with brucellosis are abortions in females or inflammation of the testicles in males. Signs of the disease are non-specific and difficult to determine based on the clinical picture. The only reliable diagnosis of this disease in animals is a laboratory/serological examination of the blood serum of animals from endangered areas (occurrence of abortion or established cases of the disease in humans). Owners/owners of animals are obliged to notify/report any change in the health status of animals on the property to the competent veterinary organization/station, and reporting of any abortion in animals is also mandatory.
The spread of brucellosis can be prevented by vaccinating sheep and goats (newborn animals), for the production of milk and meat, use only healthy animals that have been examined for brucellosis, and use products of animal origin (milk, milk products, meat, meat products, etc.) only if they are from animals that have been examined for brucellosis and have a proper finding, and in the case of small ruminants, those that have been vaccinated.
Animals in which brucellosis is detected should be issued and cooperate with the veterinary station and the veterinary inspection on the further procedure with them. The place where the infected animals stayed should be disinfected as well as the place where they aborted. People who come into contact with animals should take care of personal hygiene (hand washing and disinfection, washing and changing work clothes, shoes and washing).
