**2. Brucellosis in Sierra Leone**

Sierra Leone is located in the humid tropical forest in the west coast of West Africa. It is boarded by the Republic of Guinea in the north and north-west and Liberia in the south and southwest and by the Atlantic Ocean in the west. The country has five ecological zones: the Mangrove swamp, Savannah grassland, forest vegetation, inland valley swamp and Bolland and has nine significant rivers that retain water all year round.

The high natural vegetation provides a conducive environment for rearing animals such as ruminants. Ruminant production such as cattle is confined to the northern district of Koinadugu extending north-eastward to Kono District and southward to Bombali District. These three districts were known as the cattle belt of Sierra Leone. Major cattle markets exist in these districts.

Brucellosis outbreak occurred in Sierra Leone in 1966. The veterinary division mounted a campaign, which they divided into three phases, from 1966 to 1969. About 50% of herds became infected in Bombali and Kono, and cases of abortion were reported in Njala. Strain 19 has been used over the years, but the problem persists. A nationwide vaccination and DCIP Havac strain (45/20) were anticipated, but never materialized.

Most of the veterinary structures and institutions started degenerating during this period. The status of the disease remains unknown, but abortion and stillbirth are common among ruminants throughout the country.


### **Table 1.**

*Projections for national livestock populations by species, by district and by region.*

**Table 1** explains the increase and spread of cattle production from the north and east in 1966 [21] to every district in the country [22]. This spread of cattle production corresponds to an increase in the spread of brucellosis. The majority of cattle owners or herders are Fulani nomads with little or no formal education. Pastoral Fulani who own approximately 90% of the national herd [23] own cattle production.

The majority of the cattle owners practice a free-range animal production system, which encourages animals to move into large areas of land in search of food. Pastoralists utilize an extensive range of land as common pool resources through movement from one location to another making full use of their character and cultural practices [24]. In Nigeria, land use management is characterized by the transhumant system due to vegetation variations, agricultural practices and tsetse fly infestation [25]. Fulani pastoralists migrated to Hausa land from Senegalese valley in western Sudan but were forced to move due to deteriorating environmental conditions, land degradation and recurrent draught, thus accounting for the exodus to Guinea savannah to the forest fringes in the southern parts of Nigeria [26].

Illiteracy is a significant factor among cattle herds or agropastoralists exacerbating brucellosis or other cattle diseases in West Africa and Sierra Leone in particular. Cattle rearers or agropastoralists use knowledge passed onto them by

**39**

*One Health Approach to Control Brucellosis in Sierra Leone*

government officials or livestock officer access to their animals.

**3. How do we control brucellosis in Sierra Leone?**

include financial savings and environmental services [33]. The One Health approach involves the following:

includes various sectors of people.

defined community.

their accentors. Studies conducted in northern Nigeria reported a common feature of rural farming, as about 42% of cattle rearers or agropastoralists are illiterate or had no formal education [27]. The majority of pastoralists (58%) had no western formal education compared to 66.2% who had acquired Islamic education [28]. As a result, they have no balanced diet prepared for their animals, nor supplementation of the ration. Kassam [29] opined that the livestock sector lacks adequate supplies

Animals became malnourished, emaciated and exposed to diseases. Compounding the situation further is the lack of adequate veterinary service to attend to the needed problems of the cattle herds. One of the main problems highlighted by cattle farmers is the lack of poor veterinary services available in their communities [30]. Cattle farmers purchase drugs from foot peddlers to treat their animals. All the cattle ranches visited in Sierra Leone have drugs to treat their animals. Cattle farmers refuse

Cattle milk is a significant source of brucellosis. When people pasteurize milk,

The strategy to prevent brucellosis is much dependent on the production system. Two methods used include test and slaughter and vaccination. The former requires a laboratory facility, which is lacking in the rural communities. The latter option involves not only the administration of vaccines but also many other techniques and

A large percentage of the adult population in Sierra Leone is illiterate and live in rural communities where cattle farmers exist. Any change or transformation in the cattle sector to control brucellosis will require the involvement of the entire cattle rearers and the community people. This approach is known as One Health. One Health approach is any benefit to the complete well-being of humans, animals and their environment because of the synergy of integrated humans, and veterinary is a positive step toward the One Health approach. Such vale can even

i.Conducting a scoping mission to ascertain the prevalence and incidence of the disease in the community. It involves visiting communities where the disease has occurred and identifying stakeholders for future discussion on an agreed date based on their farming calendar. It also includes gaining knowledge about the sociocultural and traditional customs of the people in a

ii.Holding stakeholder meetings with animal rearers and owners including local administrative authorities in the community. In this forum, the scoping team meets the local administration to tell them about the etiology and epidemiology of the disease, its mode of transmission, signs and symptoms and how to prevent and control. The local authorities will put a mechanism in place to ensure compliance by all people. This involves both animals' own-

ers and community people, hence the One Health concept.

they reduce human infection. Resource-limited or poor communities do not pasteurize milk due to their long-standing traditional beliefs and cultural practices and the complete lack of public health implications of raw milk consumption [31]. These food products from the informal sector escape formal health and safety practices, thereby increasing the spread of brucellosis to the general public [32].

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82378*

of quality feed and pasture.
