Exploring community-based reporting of livestock abortions for rift valley fever and brucellosis surveillance in Uganda

Rift Valley fever (RVF) and brucellosis are serious zoonotic diseases with significant public health and economic consequences. In livestock, both diseases are associated with abortions that are not routinely reported as part of disease surveillance. We piloted a community-driven call centre initiative in Isingiro District, Uganda, from March to June 2023, aimed at facilitating the reporting of livestock abortions. The community call centre was promoted through stakeholder engagements, social media campaigns, and targeted sensitisation materials. Over three months, we received 53 alerts reporting 423 livestock abortions. We investigated 78% of these alerts and collected 200 serum samples. Of these, 184 samples were tested via ELISA for RVF virus antibodies (IgG and IgM), while all 200 were screened for anti-Brucella (IgG) antibodies using validated commercial kits. The proportion of aborting livestock testing positive for IgG antibodies to Rift Valley fever virus (RVFV) was 38% [95% CI 29–47] in cattle, 33% [95% CI 14–61] in sheep, and 20% [95% CI 12–31] in goats. For IgM, sheep showed the highest proportion at 8% [95% CI 1–35], followed by cattle at 2% [95% CI 1–6]. Further analysis showed that cattle had a 2.9-fold elevated odds of RVF IgG seropositivity relative to sheep and goats (OR = 2.9, 95% CI 1.27–7.07, P = 0.014). The proportion of aborting livestock testing positive for IgG antibodies to brucellosis was 36% [95% CI 25–49] in goats and 16% [95% CI 11–23] in cattle, with no evidence of antibodies found in the sampled sheep. Our pilot study revealed high seropositivity to RVFV and brucellosis in cattle, sheep, and goats that had recently experienced abortions. This study demonstrates that early reporting of abortions by communities, followed by immediate collection of samples for diagnosis, could facilitate early detection and response to outbreaks. Furthermore, the response registered at the call centre by livestock owners has the potential for collaborative efforts to establish disease reporting and surveillance, thereby enabling more timely interventions.