Brucellosis in India: results of a collaborative workshop to define One Health priorities.

Brucellosis is an important zoonosis worldwide. In livestock, it frequently causes chronic disease with reproductive failures that contribute to production losses, and in humans, it causes an often-chronic febrile illness that is frequently underdiagnosed in many low- and middle-income countries, including India. India has one of the largest ruminant populations in the world, and brucellosis is endemic in the country in both humans and animals. In November 2017, the International Livestock Research Institute invited experts from government, national research institutes, universities, and different international organizations to a one-day meeting to set priorities towards a "One Health" control strategy for brucellosis in India. Using a risk prioritization exercise followed by discussions, the meeting agreed on the following priorities: collaboration (transboundary and transdisciplinary); collection of more epidemiological evidence in humans, cattle, and in small ruminants (which have been neglected in past research); Economic impact studies, including cost effectiveness of control programmes; livestock vaccination, including national facilities for securing vaccines for the cattle population; management of infected animals (with the ban on bovine slaughter, alternatives such as sanctuaries must be explored); laboratory capacities and diagnostics (quality must be assured and better rapid tests developed); and increased awareness, making farmers, health workers, and the general public more aware of risks of brucellosis and zoonoses in general. Overall, the meeting participants agreed that brucellosis control will be challenging in India, but with collaboration to address the priority areas listed here, it could be possible.

Studies on occurrence, characterisation and decontamination of emerging pathogenic Escherichia coli (STEC, ETEC and EIEC) in table eggs.

1. Escherichia coli is one of the most common facultative anaerobic species present in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and human beings. Usually they occur as commensals, but some serotypes can cause significant illnesses in humans as well as mammals and birds. 2. The occurrence of E. coli in different categories of table eggs collected from markets was evaluated. Isolates were analysed for the presence of virulence genes, antibiotic susceptibility pattern and efficacy of peracetic acid and chlorine for the purpose of decontaminating table eggs. 3. Significant differences were observed in the occurrence of E. coli between different groups viz. processed (cleaned, washed, sanitised and packed eggs), unprocessed (un-cleaned, un-sanitised and loose eggs) and free range (eggs obtained from backyard poultry) table eggs. Overall, E. coli occurred in table eggs at 28.6% with 22.9, 29.2 and 50.0% occurrence in processed, unprocessed and free-range table eggs, respectively. 4. A total of 24 isolates of E. coli were obtained and screened for virulence genes viz. STH, SLT1/2 and INVE genes. Of the 24 isolates recovered, 10 typeable isolates belonged to O141, O119, O9, O120 and O101 serotypes, while the remaining 14 were untypeable. Antibiograms of the isolates showed multiple antimicrobial resistance (MAR) index in the range of 0.13-0.40. 5. Peracetic acid (PAA) and chlorine (CL) were studied for their sanitisation efficacy; concentrations of 100 mg/kg of PAA and 200 mg/kg of CL completely inactivated E. coli over the egg surface and also resulted in 2.58 and 2.38 log reduction in total viable counts (TVC), respectively. 6. The presence of virulence-associated shiga-like toxin (SLT1/2) and invasion E (INVE) genes and antimicrobial resistance among the emerging serotypes of pathogenic E. coli isolated from table eggs has public health implications. It underscores the need to implement better management practices across the production systems and marketing channels to produce E. coli-free wholesome eggs for consumers.

The Extent and Structure of Peri-urban Smallholder Dairy Farming in Five Cities in India.

Livestock keeping is common in many cities in India, driven by the demand for animal-source foods, particularly perishable milk. We selected five cities from different regions of the country and conducted a census in 34 randomly selected peri-urban villages to identify and describe all smallholder dairy farms. In total 1,690 smallholder dairy farms were identified, keeping on average 2.2 milking cows and 0.7 milking buffaloes. In Bhubaneswar, the proportion of cows milking was only 50%, but in other cities it was 63-73%. In two of the five cities, more than 90% of the farmers stated that dairy production was their main source of income, while <50% in the other cities reported this. In one of the cities, only 36% of the households kept milk for themselves. Market channels varied considerably; in one city about 90% of farms sold milk to traders, in another, 90% sold to the dairy cooperative, and in another around 90% sold directly to consumers. In conclusion, peri-urban dairy systems in India are important but also varying between different cities, with only one city, Bengaluru, having a well-developed cooperative system, and the northeastern poorer region being more dependent on traders. Further studies may be needed to elucidate the importance and to design appropriate developmental interventions.

Risk Factors for Brucella Seroprevalence in Peri-Urban Dairy Farms in Five Indian Cities.

Brucellosis is endemic among dairy animals in India, contributing to production losses and posing a health risk to people, especially farmers and others in close contact with dairy animals or their products. Growing urban populations demand increased milk supplies, resulting in intensifying dairy production at the peri-urban fringe. Peri-urban dairying is under-studied but has implications for disease transmission, both positive and negative. In this cross-sectional study, five Indian cities were selected to represent different geographies and urbanization extent. Around each, we randomly selected 34 peri-urban villages, and in each village three smallholder dairy farms (defined as having a maximum of 10 dairy animals) were randomly selected. The farmers were interviewed, and milk samples were taken from up to three animals. These were tested using a commercial ELISA for antibodies against Brucella abortus, and factors associated with herd seroprevalence were identified. In all, 164 out of 1163 cows (14.1%, 95% CI 12.2-16.2%) were seropositive for Brucella. In total, 91 out of 510 farms (17.8%, 95% CI 14.6-21.4%) had at least one positive animal, and out of these, just seven farmers stated that they had vaccinated against brucellosis. In four cities, the farm-level seroprevalence ranged between 1.4-5.2%, while the fifth city had a seroprevalence of 72.5%. This city had larger, zero-grazing herds, used artificial insemination to a much higher degree, replaced their animals by purchasing from their neighbors, were less likely to contact a veterinarian in case of sick animals, and were also judged to be less clean. Within the high-prevalence city, farms were at higher risk of being infected if they had a young owner and if they were judged less clean. In the low-prevalence cities, no risk factors could be identified. In conclusion, this study has identified that a city can have a high burden of infected animals in the peri-urban areas, but that seroprevalence is strongly influenced by the husbandry system. Increased intensification can be associated with increased risk, and thus the practices associated with this, such as artificial insemination, are also associated with increased risk. These results may be important to identify high-risk areas for prioritizing interventions and for policy decisions influencing the structure and development of the dairy industry.