Journal of Tuberculosis Research, 2023, 11, 139-147
https://www.scirp.org/journal/jtr
ISSN Online: 2329-8448
ISSN Print: 2329-843X
DOI: 10.4236/jtr.2023.113014 Sep. 26, 2023 139 Journal of Tuberculosis Research
Investigating Prevalence of Bovine
Tuberculosis in Cattle in an Agro-Pastoral
Community in Awdal Region, Somaliland
Amina Husein Mohamed
1
, Abdullahi Sheikh Mohamed
1
, Ahmed Mohamed Ali
1
,
Osman Abdullahi Farah
2
, Muse Mohamed Awaleh
1
, Mustafe Ahmed Ismail
1
, Fred Wesonga
1
1
IGAD Sheikh Technical Veterinary School and Reference Centre, Sheikh, Somalia
2
Somaliland Ministry of Livestock and Fishey Development, Hargeisa, Somalia
Abstract
Awdal region is the most northwesterly province of Somaliland. The region is
one of the agro-pastoral livelihood zones in Somaliland, where farming and
agricultural production are the predominant livelihood sources. IGAD (In-
tergovernmental Authority on Development) Sheikh Technical University of
Science (ISTUS) worked to study the prevalence of Bovine Tuberculosis (TB)
among cattle in Awdal region of Somaliland. The aim was to inform public
health and Veterinary experts on having one-health approach to infectious
diseases among humans and animals. The serum that was stored at −20˚C
was transported to IGAD Sheikh Technical University of Science (ISTUS) for
further analysis using BOVIGAM serological test (Sandwich ELISA). The re-
sults indicate that Bovine Tuberculosis is highly prevalent in the study area
(10.1%). The high prevalence recorded in the current study could be due to
the consumption of raw milk and lack of proper control strategies in place to
control the transmission of the disease between animals, between animals and
wildlife and between animals and humans. Hence, an awareness creation
campaign should be created on bTB transmission and its public health signi-
ficance to cattle owners, milk and meat consumers and people who are in
close proximity to cattle. In addition, testing and eradication programme
should be implemented where applicable.
Keywords
Awdal, Bovigam, Bovine Tuberculosis, Cattle, Prevalence
1. Introduction
Bovine TB is a chronic granulomatous inflammatory disease that is predomi-
How to cite this paper: Mohamed, A.H.,
Mohamed, A.S., Ali, A.M., Farah, O.A.,
Awaleh, M.M., Ismail, M.A. and Wesonga,
F. (2023) Investigating Prevalence of Bovine
Tuberculosis in Cattle in an Agro-Pastoral
Community in Awdal Region, Somaliland.
Journal of Tuberculosis Research, 11, 139-147.
https://doi.org/10.4236/jtr.2023.113014
Received: August 14, 2023
Accepted: September 23, 2023
Published: September 26, 2023
Copyright © 2023 by author(s) and
Scientific Research Publishing Inc.
This work is licensed under the Creative
Commons Attribution International
License (CC BY 4.0).
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Open Access