Brucellosis is consistently ranked among the most economically important zoonotic diseases globally. It sickens both people and animals including livestock. This study estimated the economic and human burdens of brucellosis in low-income countries in tropical Asia and Africa and then provided evidence for effective control programs to reduce that burden.

Benefits of brucellosis control can be measured in both animal productivity gains, and gains among people in the form of DALYs (Disability Adjusted Life Years). Interventions that cost less than US$150 per DALY averted are ‘attractive’ from a public health perspective, while those that cost US$25 per DALY averted are ‘highly attractive’.

In a study in Mongolia (Roth et al. 2003), reduced public health costs provided only 11% of the overall benefit, but when adjusted for livestock-sector and other healthcare benefits the cost per DALY averted was US$19.1.

The various components of disease control may include promoting milk pasteurization, vaccination of livestock, controlling livestock movements, biosecurity such as avoiding wildlife contacts, among others. In Nigeria, 10 years of disease control followed by 5 years of eradication only in the livestock sector led to a benefit/cost ratio of 3.2. In Mongolia, vaccination among livestock over 10 years also resulted in a benefit/cost ratio of 3.2. In New Zealand, vaccination resulted in a ratio of 1.74.

The authors recognize that the prospects for national brucellosis control programs in most low-income countries are limited but some targeted control programs can probably be feasibly managed and provide good economic returns.

Full citation

McDermott, J., Grace, D. and Zinsstag, J. 2013. Economics of brucellosis impact and control in low-income countries. Scientific and Technical Review 32(1): 249-261.

Roth, F. et al. 2003. Human health benefits from livestock vaccination for brucellosis: Case study. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 81(12): 867–876.