The effect of seasonal variation on anthrax epidemiology in the upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia
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Date
2012-03-25
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Veterinary Science
Abstract
Anthrax has become endemic throughout the upper
Zambezi floodplain located in the Western Province of
Zambia over the recent years. To date, no comprehensive
study has been carried out to determine whether recurrence
of anthrax outbreaks may be linked to differences in
precipitation and human activities. Retrospective data for
the period 1999 to 2007 showed that a total of 1,216 bovine
cases of anthrax were reported. During the same period,
1,790 human anthrax cases and a corresponding case
fatality rate of 4.63% (83/1,790) was documented in the
upper Zambezi floodplain. Occurrence of human cases was
highly correlated with cattle outbreaks (r = 0.94, p ＜ 0.001).
Differences in precipitation were significantly associated
with the occurrence of anthrax outbreaks (χ 2 = 4.75, p ＜
0.03), indicating that the likelihood of outbreaks occurring
was higher during the dry months when human occupancy
of the floodplain was greater compared to the flooding
months when people and livestock moved out of this region.
Human dependency on the floodplain was shown to
significantly influence the epidemiology of anthrax in the
upper Zambezi floodplain of western Zambia. Methods for
mitigating anthrax outbreaks by disrupting the cycle of
transmission are herein highlighted.
Description
Journal Article
Keywords
Anthrax, MEDICINE::Social medicine::Public health medicine research areas::Epidemiology, Floodplain, Zambezi