A survey of risk factors with regard to bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis in Mnisi, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Abstract

Cow’s milk forms an essential component of household diets and is an important source of animal protein to poor communities (especially for the young and old). Milk is largely consumed unpasteurised and poses a threat to human health from zoonotic diseases such as bovine tuberculosis (BTB) and brucellosis (Bryan 1983). The recent detection of both infections in the cattle population in the Mnisi area (Matekwe 2012, Musoke unpublished information) prompted an investigation of the risk factors associated with the zoonotic transmission of the causative agents, Mycobacterium bovis and Brucella abortus.