Camel milk is a neglected source of brucellosis among rural Arab communities.
Peter Holloway, Matthew Gibson, Tanja Holloway, Iain Pickett, Brittany Crook, Jacqueline M Cardwell, Stephen Nash, Imadidden Musallam, Bilal Al-Omari, Ahmad Al-Majali, Wail Hayajneh, Ehab Abu-Basha, Punam Mangtani, Javier Guitian
Author Information
Peter Holloway: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK. pholloway3@rvc.ac.uk. ORCID
Matthew Gibson: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Tanja Holloway: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and International Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Iain Pickett: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Brittany Crook: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Jacqueline M Cardwell: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK. ORCID
Stephen Nash: Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
Imadidden Musallam: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
Bilal Al-Omari: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Ahmad Al-Majali: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Wail Hayajneh: Department of Paediatrics, School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO, USA.
Ehab Abu-Basha: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan.
Punam Mangtani: Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology and International Health, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.
Javier Guitian: Veterinary Epidemiology, Economics and Public Health Group, WOAH Collaborating Centre for Risk Analysis and Modelling, Department of Pathobiology and Population Sciences, The Royal Veterinary College, Hatfield, UK.
The World Health Organization describes brucellosis as one of the world's leading zoonotic diseases, with the Middle East a global hotspot. Brucella melitensis is endemic among livestock populations in the region, with zoonotic transmission occurring via consumption of raw milk, amongst other routes. Control is largely via vaccination of small ruminant and cattle populations. Due to sociocultural and religious influences camel milk (camelus dromedarius) is widely consumed raw, while milk from other livestock species is largely boiled. To investigate the potential public health impact of Brucella in camels we conduct a cross-sectional study in southern Jordan including 227 herds and 202 livestock-owning households. Here we show daily consumption of raw camel milk is associated with Brucella seropositive status among the study population, OR 2.19 (95%CI 1.23-3.94) on multivariable analysis, highlighting the need for socioculturally appropriate control measures; targeted interventions among the camel reservoir being crucial for effective control.
References
One Health. 2022 Jun 08;15:100406
[PMID: 36277088]
