Livestock seromonitoring and human brucellosis in central Mongolia: applying the one health approach

AbstractBackgroundThe National Mongolian Livestock Programme 2010–21, approved by the Mongolian Parliament in 2010, includes activities to eliminate brucellosis from Mongolia. As part of this programme, the Mongolian authorities planned to vaccinate animals in Western Aimags in 2011 and in the Central Aimags in 2012. The current project was implemented between 2011 and 2014 and included three seromonitoring studies conducted after the mass vaccination of livestock in Mongolia. The aim of this study was to assist the government in effective planning of brucellosis control measures and capacity-building in epidemiology.MethodsThe project consisted of three components: theoretical training on epidemiology, field work, and data analysis training. We conducted a cross-sectional study to measure vaccination and immunisation coverage and the prevalence of human brucellosis in the central region of Mongolia. We randomly selected two aimags (provinces)—Dundgobi and Uvurkhangai—from the nine aimags in Central Mongolia. The selections of households and herds were done in a four-stage random cluster sampling, proportional to the size of the targeted livestock herd.FindingsHuman brucellosis seropositivity was higher in Dundgobi (26/254 [10%]) than in Uvurkhangai Aimag (9/252 [3·8%]). The reported vaccination frequency of livestock in a khot ail (a cluster of several households that share shelter, water, and pasture) was high (87% for cattle herds, 100% for yak, and 96% for goat and sheep herds). Seropositivity was 44% in cattle, 92% in yak, 70% in goats, and 65% in sheep. As part of the project, 40 epidemiology professionals received training and they are now able to apply the knowledge gained from the programme to their work. Furthermore, the Mongolian government has data for rates of brucellosis in humans and livestock in Central and Eastern Mongolia as a result of this project.InterpretationThe project has provided the groundwork for sustainable development by training Mongolian professionals to monitor brucellosis vaccination at a national level. The fight against brucellosis requires long-term commitment and financial and technical support from various stakeholders, including herders, veterinarians, medical professionals, and decision makers. Among ongoing challenges is that there is resistance from some veterinarians who deny the benefits of the one health approach and the contribution of international experts.FundingThe project has been funded by the “Animal Health” project implemented jointly by the Government of Mongolia and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute in Basel, with financial support from the Swiss development agency