Prevalence of Campylobacter and Brucella species isolated from a diversity of rodents in Kasulu District, Tanzania: A public health risk indicator
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15659058Keywords:
abundance, habitat, zoonosis, pathogens, PCRAbstract
Rodents reserve and transmit zoonotic bacteria, including Campylobacter and Brucella, to susceptible species. However, the prevalence of bacterial species they reserve remains unclear in Kigoma. This study aims to assess the prevalence of Campylobacter and Brucella species with reference to rodents as their reservoir species in Kasulu, Kigoma, Tanzania. A cross-sectional study was carried out in three villages of Kasulu district in Kigoma region. Rodents were captured from households, cultivated, fallow land, and wild areas using baited traps, then counted and identified to species level with a morphological key. Rectal swabs were collected for the isolation of Campylobacter and Brucella species. Conventional microbiological methods were employed for the initial isolation of bacterial species. Further identification was done by using conventional PCR. Sanger sequencing was also employed to generate sequences whose phylogenetic reconstructions were obtained with the aid of MEGA X software. A one-way ANOVA test was employed for statistical inference. A total of 182 rodents from 11 species were captured in the study. Mastomys natalensis was the most abundant species (54/182), while Lophuromys and Arvicanthis species were the least abundant. Rodent species diversity was highest in wild areas (H’ = 1.83) and lowest in households (H’ = 0.28). No statistical significance was observed between diversity and habitats (p-value>0.05). The prevalence of Campylobacter and Brucella species was 1% (2/182) and 2% (4/182), respectively. Campylobacter jejuni and Brucella pseudogrignonensis strains were identified. These results revealed that Mastomys natalensis and Rattus rattus are species harboring the pathogens of interest in this study. These two species are distinguished from others by their closer proximity and interactions with human habitats, where they are most abundant. This close association between a reservoir and a susceptible host positively influences the chain of transmission between the two.
References
Adhikari, B., Madie, P., Connolly, J., Davies, P., Layland, M. and Rogers, L. (2002). Wild birds, flies, and rodents are reservoirs of Campylobacter spp. on a dairy farm. New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Technical Paper, (2002/18).
Azim, T., Azimi, L., Fallah, F., Pourmand, M. R., Dogaheh, H. P., and Tabatabaei, S. R. (2021). Detection and distribution of zoonotic pathogens in wild Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus) from Terhan, Iran. New microbes and new infection, 42, 100908.
Backhans, A. and Fellström, C. (2012). Rodents on pig and chicken farms–a potential threat to human and animal health. Infection ecology and epidemiology, 2(1), 17093.
Caffrey, N., Agunos, A., Gow, S., Liljebjelke, K., Waldner, C. L., Mainali, C., and Checkley, S. L. (2021). A cross-sectional study of the prevalence factors associated with fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter jejuni in broiler flocks in Canada. Preventive Veterinary Medicine, 186, 105164.
Chidodo, S., Kilawe, C. J., Mnyone, L. L., Broecke, B. V. and Mulungu, L. S. (2020). Factors affecting the composition of rodent assemblages in the North Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Biology, 69(2), 20047-1.
Dahmana, H., Granjon, L., Diagne, C., Davoust, B., Fenollar, F. and Mediannikov, O. (2020). Rodents as hosts of pathogens and related zoonotic disease risk. Pathogens, 9(3), 202.
Deogratias, A. P., Mushi, M. F., Paterno, L., Tappe, D., Seni, J., Kabymera, R. and Mshana, S. E. (2014). Prevalence and determinants of Campylobacter infection among under-five children with acute watery diarrhoea in Mwanza, North Tanzania. Archives of Public Health, 72(1), 1–6.
Franco, M. P., Mulder, M., Gilman, R. H. and Smits, H. L. (2007). Human brucellosis. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 7(12), 775-786
Gharajalar, S. N., Hassanzadeh, P. and Nejad, N. H. (2020). Molecular detection of Campylobacter species and Cytolethal distending toxin isolated from chicken livers in Tabriz. Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, 71, 101474.
Gharbi, M., Béjaoui, A., Hamda, C. B., Ghedira, K., Ghram, A. and Maaroufi, A. (2021). Virulence and antibiotic resistance gene distribution in Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolated from broiler chickens in Tunisia. Journal of Microbiology, Immunology and Infection.
Haque, M. A., Platts-Mills, J. A., Mduma, E., Bodhidatta, L., Bessong, P., Shakoor, S. and Ahmed, T. (2019). Determinants of Campylobacter infection and association with growth and enteric inflammation in children under two years of age in low-resource settings. Scientific Reports, 9(1), 1–8.
Jahan, N. A., Lindsey, L. L. & Larsen, P. A. (2021). The role of peridomestic rodents as reservoirs for zoonotic foodborne pathogens. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases, 21(3), 133–148.
Katakweba, A. A. S., Kipanyula, M. J., Durnez, L., Mhamphi, G., Luziga, C., Mgode, G. F. and Machang'u, R. S. (2013). Rodents and Shrews as Vectors of Zoonotic Spirochetes and Trypanosomes in Tanzania. Tanzania Veterinary Journal 28(1) 2013.
Katakweba, A. A., Mulungu, L. S., Eiseb, S. J., Mahlaba, T. A. A., Makundi, R. H., Massawe, A. W., and Belmain, S. R. (2012). Prevalence of haemoparasites, leptospires and coccobacilli with potential for human infection in the blood of rodents and shrews from selected localities in Tanzania, Namibia and Swaziland. African Zoology, 47(1), 119-127.
Katandukila, J. V., Chuhila, Y. J. and Chibwana, F. D. (2021). Serological Analyses of Human Brucellosis in Ngara and Kibondo Districts, Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Science, 47(3), 1225-1235.
Komba, E. V. (2017). Human and animal thermophilic Campylobacter infections in East African countries: Epidemiology and antibiogram. Journal of Scientific and Technical Research, p. 2574-1241.
Lema, R., and Magige, F. J. (2018). The influence of agricultural activities on the diversity of rodents in Kindoroko forest reserve and surrounding areas, North Pare Mountains, Tanzania. Tanzania Journal of Science, 44(1), 97 -106.
Li, S. Y., Huang, Y. E., Chen, J. Y., Lai, C. H., Mao, Y. C., Huang, Y. T. and Liu, P. Y. (2021). Genomics of Ochrobactrum pseudogrignonense (newly named Brucella pseudogrignonensis) reveals a new bla OXA subgroup. Microbial Genomics, 7(8).
Linton, D., Owen, R. J., and Stanley, J. (1996). Rapid identification by PCR of the genus Campylobacter and of five Campylobacter species enteropathogenic for man and animals. Research in microbiology, 147(9),707-718.
Liu, D. (2021). Molecular Identification of Campylobacter spp. In Molecular Food Microbiology (pp. 213–227). CRC Press.
Makundi, R. H., Massawe, A. W., Mulungu, L. S. and Katakweba, A. (2010). Species diversity and population dynamics of rodents in a farm‐fallow field mosaic system in Central Tanzania. African Journal of Ecology, 48(2), 313-320.
Massawe, A. W., Mulungu, L. S., Makundi, R. H., Dlamini, N., Eiseb, S. J., Kirsten, F., … and Belmain, S. R. (2011). Spatial and temporal population dynamics of rodents in three geographically different African regions: implications for ecologically-based rodent management. African Zoology, 46 (2), 393 – 405.
Mugizi, D. R., Muradrasoli, S., Boqvist, S., Erume, J., Nasinyama, G. W., Waiswa, C. and Magnusson, U. (2015). Isolation and molecular characterisation of Brucella isolates in cattle milk in Uganda. BioMed Research International, 2015.
Mulungu, L. S., Makundi, R. H., Massawe, A. W., Machang'u, R. S. and Mbije, N. E. (2008). Diversity and distribution of rodent and shrew species associated with variations in altitude on Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Mammalia 72(2008), 178-185.
Mzula, A., Wambura, P. N., Mdegela, R. H. and Shirima, G. M. (2019). Phenotypic and molecular detection of Aeromonads infection in farmed Nile tilapia in Southern highland and Northern Tanzania. Heliyon, 5(8), e02220.
Nkogwe, C., Raletobana, J., Stewart-Johnson, A., Suepaul, S. and Adesiyun, A. (2011). Frequency of detection of Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Campylobacter spp. in the faeces of wild rats (Rattus spp.) in Trinidad and Tobago. Veterinary Medicine International, vol. 2011.
Nkwabi, A. K., John, B., Kija, H., Otsyina, R. M., Monjare, J. F. and Kajuni, A. R. (2018). Abundance and distribution of small mammals relative to human activities in the wildlife management areas of Ruvuma landscape, southern Tanzania. International Journal of Fauna and Biological Studies, 5(2), 156-162
Pimsai, U., Pearch, M. J., Satasook, C., Bumrungsri, S. and Bates, P. J. (2014). Murine rodents (Rodentia: Murinae) of the Myanmar-Thai-Malaysian peninsula and Singapore: taxonomy, distribution, ecology, conservation status, and illustrated identification keys. Bonn Zoological Bulletin, 63(1), 15-114.
Richard-Greenblatt, M., Rutherford, C., Luinstra, K., Cárdenas, A. M., Pang, X. L., Jayaratne, P. and Smieja, M. (2020). Evaluation of the FecalSwab for stool specimen storage and molecular detection of enteropathogens on the BD Max system. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 58(9), e00178-20.
Roshanjo, K., Jafari, N. J., Asadpour, L., Ranjbar, R., Afshar, D., Farahani, A. (2019) and Rahimi, A. Identification through Culture and Molecular Methods of Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter fetus in Surface Waters in Rasht. Microbiology Research Journal, 27(2): 1–7.
Rossler, E., Olivero, C., Soto, L. P., Frizzo, L. S., Zimmermann, J., Rosmini, M. R. and Zbrun, M. V. (2020). Prevalence, genotypic diversity and detection of virulence genes in thermotolerant Campylobacter at different stages of the poultry meat supply chain. International Journal of Food Microbiology, 326, 108641.
Seleem, M. N., Boyle, S. M. and Sriranganathan, N. (2010). Brucellosis: a re-emerging zoonosis. Veterinary microbiology, 140(3-4), pp. 392–398.
Sher, A. A., Ashraf, M. A., Mustafa, B. E. and Raza, M. M. (2021). Epidemiological trends of foodborne Campylobacter outbreaks in the United States of America, 1998–2016. Food Microbiology, 97, 103751.
Tiller, R. V., Gee, J. E., Frace, M. A., Taylor, T. K., Setubal, J. C., Hoffmaster, A. R., and De, B. K. (2010). Characterisation of novel Brucella strains originating from wild native rodent species in North Queensland, Australia. Applied and environmental microbiology, 76(17), 5837-5845.
Wareth, G., Dadar, M., Ali, H., Hamdy, M. E., Al‐Talhy, A. M., Elkharsawi, A. R. and Neubauer, H. (2022). The perspective of antibiotic therapeutic challenges of brucellosis in the Middle East and North African countries: Current situation and therapeutic management. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases. DOI: 10.1111/tbed.14502.
Young, E. J. (1995). An overview of human brucellosis. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 21(2), 283–289.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Categories
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Scientific Reports in Life Sciences
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
