Abstract

Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonotic disease that is prevalent worldwide. The disease causes late abortion, infertility, and retained placenta in cattle. Ingestion of contaminated food and water transmits the disease. In humans, drinking unpasteurized /underboiled milk and direct contact with uterine discharges and fetal membranes can expose one to infection. In addition, animal migration, the trade in animal products, and human activities posed challenges to disease transmission. The present study aimed to investigate the epidemiology of brucellosis and the limitations in current knowledge regarding its diagnostics and control measures. For the literature study on bovine brucellosis, research studies from the past 1.5 decades were examined using online databases such as Google Scholar, Scopus, PubMed, and Google. Both manual and automated searching devices were used to select the research articles. The scientific literature published in languages other than English was discarded during the screening process. Conference papers were omitted during the screening process. Early screening of the disease can reduce its incidence. Existing commercial vaccines are not very effective at preventing the disease. In resource-limited settings like South Asia, well-planned biosecurity measures, farmer awareness, immunization, and a coordinated one-health approach can help control infections in this region. Further detailed studies worldwide should be conducted to prevent the infection globally.

Key words: Bovine, brucellosis, epidemiology, diagnosis, prevention, and control measures