Socio-Demography Characteristics and Prevalence of Brucellosis Among Community Members in Kenya. A Case of Mandera East Sub-County, Mandera County, Kenya

Abstract

Brucellosis is an infectious debilitating, acute or sub-acute febrile illness usually marked by an intermittent or remittent fever accompanied by malaise, anorexia and prostration, and which, in the absence of specific treatment, may persist for weeks or months. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between Socio- Demography Characteristics and prevalence of brucellosis among community members in Kenya. A case of Mandera East Sub-county, Mandera County, Kenya. The study was descriptive cross sectional study which collected both qualitative and quantitative data from where a sample of 420 respondents was systematically selected from heads of 2,617 households form Mandera East Sub-county. The study instruments included questionnaire, Focus Group Discussion guide and Interview Guide. Blood samples were screened for brucellosis using Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) and the positive sera were subjected through Serum Slow Agglutination Test (SSAT) which acted as a confirmatory test. Data was analyzed using SPSS Version 20 and results of the study presented in frequencies and percentages in Tables and Figures. Ethical issues were observed and consent sought from the respondents. Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT) indicated a prevalence of 24.8% (95% CI: 20.0–29.6) and Serum Slow Agglutination Test (SSAT) indicated that the prevalence was at 14.3% (95% CI: 8.7–19.9) among the respondents. The study showed that the seroprevalence was higher among the male respondents (98%; n=103) as detected through RBPT and (98%; n=57) confirmed through SSAT. There was significant relationship between the gender and seroprevalence as tested through RBPT (P<0.001).