Govindasamy, KrpashaEtter, Eric Marcel CharlesHarris, Bernice NerineRossouw, JenniferAbernethy, D.A. (Darrell)Thompson, P.N. (Peter N.)2022-09-232022-09-232021-11-14Govindasamy, K.; Etter, E.M.C.; Harris, B.N.; Rossouw, J.; Abernethy, D.A.; Thompson, P.N. Knowledge of Brucellosis, Health-Seeking Behaviour, and Risk Factors for Brucella Infection amongst Workers on Cattle Farms in Gauteng, South Africa. Pathogens 2021, 10, 1484. https://DOI.org/10.3390/pathogens10111484.2076-0817 (online)10.3390/pathogens10111484https://repository.up.ac.za/handle/2263/87324Data Availability Statement: Data are available on request from the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.Brucellosis in humans is under-detected and underreported in sub-Saharan Africa. Risk factors associated with Brucella infection and health seeking behaviour in response to brucellosis-like symptoms, amongst cattle farm workers and veterinary officials in South Africa, are unknown. Farm workers and veterinary officials (N = 230) were screened for brucellosis using commercial Rose Bengal Test (RBT®), IgM Enzyme-linked Immunoassay (ELISA)®, IgG ELISA® and the BrucellaCapt® test. Knowledge of brucellosis and risk factors for exposure to Brucella were also investigated. Seroprevalence varied according to test used: 10.1% (RBT®), 20.9% (IgG ELISA®) and 6.5% (BrucellaCapt®). Only 22.2% (6/27) of veterinary officials opt to visit a clinic, doctor, or hospital in response to selfexperienced brucellosis-like symptoms, compared to 74.9% (152/203) of farm workers (p < 0.001). Of the BrucellaCapt® seropositive participants, 53% (7/15) did not visit a clinic in response to brucellosislike symptoms. Weak evidence of an association between the handling of afterbirth or placenta and infection of a short evolution (RBT®, IgM ELISA® and IgG ELISA® seropositive) was found (OR = 8.9, 95% CI: 1.0–81.1, p = 0.052), and strong evidence of an association between this outcome and the slaughter of cattle (OR = 5.3, 95% CI: 1.4–19.6, p = 0.013). There was strong evidence of a positive association between inactive/resolved infection and veterinary officials vs. farm workers exposed to seropositive herds (OR = 7.0, 95% CI: 2.4–20.2, p < 0.001), with a simultaneous negative association with the handling of afterbirth or placenta (OR = 3.9, 95% CI: 1.3–11.3, p = 0.012). Findings suggest a proportion of undetected clinical cases of brucellosis amongst workers on cattle farms in Gauteng.en© 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.BovineBrucellosisHumanB. abortusGauteng Province, South AfricaBrucella infectionCattle farm workersVeterinary officialsRose Bengal Test (RBT®)IgM enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA)®IgG enzyme-linked immunoassay®BrucellaCapt® testArticle