Poster prepared by Hiwot Desta, September 2018

1. Brucellosis
Prevention and control
BRUCELLOSIS
Brucellosis IS A DISEASE THAT affects cattle, sheep, goats, camels species and
PEOPLE. The germ which causes brucellosis is called Brucella.
Transmission to humans
- Drinking raw (not boiled) or contaminated milk and milk products
- Eating raw (uncooked) meat from infected animals
- Direct contact- handling infected animals (aborted materials, cut wounds,
placenta)
- Inhaling the bacteria from infected environment (dust, dried dung)
Infected humans can show:
- Chills
- Headaches
- Night sweat
- Loss of appetite
- Weight loss
- Joint, back and muscle pain
- Inflammation of testicle
Infected animal can show:
- Acute fever
- Late abortion with reddish vaginal discharge
- Retention of fetal membrane
- Permanent sterility
- Anorexia
In bulls:
- Swollen scrotum with pain
- Enlargement of lymph nodes around testicles
Prevention and control
- Vaccinate animals
- Avoid direct contact with infected animals and aborted fetus
- Use protective gloves during handling animals
- Do not eat raw meat or drink raw milk and milk products
- Wash and disinfect hands after working with animal and animal product
Hiwot Desta
h.desta@cgiar.org ● Box 5689 Addis Ababa Ethiopia ● +251 116 17 22 23
Addis Ababa Ethiopia ● ilri.org
Transmission through contaminated environment
Transmission through direct contact and
inhalation
Brucella shed through body fluids
in soil, air, water and aborted fetuses
Transmission through drinking and eating raw milk
and meat
BrucellaInfectedanimal
Transmission to animal
- Direct contact with infected birthing tissues and fluids (e.g. placenta, aborted fetuses,
fetal fluids, vaginal discharges), mucous membranes (eyes, nose, mouth), or breaks in
the skin
- By ingestion (oral)
- Transmit by contaminated objects (fomites) such as, equipment, clothing, shoes, hay,
feed or water
This poster is licensed for use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (September 2018)
ILRI thanks all donors and organizations which globally support its work through their contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund