Research Articles (Medical Microbiology)

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    PhyloPi: an affordable, purpose built phylogenetic pipeline for the HIV drug resistance testing facility
    (2018) Bester, Phillip A.; De Vries, Andrie; Riekert, S. J. P. K.; Steegen, Kim; Van Zyl, Gert; Goedhals, Dominique
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    ItemOpen Access
    Prevalence and occupational exposure to zoonotic diseases in high-risk populations in the Free State Province, South Africa
    (Frontiers Media, 2023) van der Westhuizen, Cornelius G.; Burt, Felicity J.; van Heerden, Nina; van Zyl, Willie; Anthonissen, Tonia; Musoke, Jolly
    𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Zoonotic diseases are responsible for 2.5 billion human cases globally and approximately 2.7 million deaths annually. Surveillance of animal handlers and livestock for zoonotic pathogens contributes to understanding the true disease burden and risk factors within a community. This study investigated the prevalence of selected zoonoses in cattle, farm workers and occupational exposure to endemic zoonotic diseases and their associated risk factors. 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗼𝗱𝘀: Sputum samples from farmworkers were screened for Mycobacterium bovis. Blood specimens from farmworkers and archived sera were tested for serological evidence of Brucella sp., hantaviruses, and Leptospira sp. Communal and commercial cattle herds were tested for bovine tuberculosis and brucellosis. 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘀: Mycobacterium bovis was not isolated from human samples. A total of 327 human sera were screened, and 35/327 (10.7%) were Brucella sp. IgG positive, 17/327 (5.2%) Leptospira sp. IgM positive, and 38/327 (11.6%) hantavirus IgG positive (95% CI). A higher proportion of Brucella sp. IgG-positive samples were detected among veterinarians (value of p = 0.0006). Additionally, two cattle from a commercial dairy farm were bovine tuberculosis (bTB) positive using the bTB skin test and confirmatory interferon-gamma assay. A higher percentage of confirmed brucellosis-positive animals were from communal herds (8.7%) compared to commercial herds (1.1%). 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝘂𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: These findings highlight the brucellosis and M. bovis prevalence in commercial and communal herds, the zoonotic disease risk in commercial and subsistence farming in developing countries, and the occupational and rural exposure risk to zoonotic pathogens.