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Public Health Threat Caused by Zoonotic Diseases in Bangladesh

M. A. Samad
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Diseases and infections shared between animals and humans are mainly called zoonotic diseases which may be categorized as emerging, reemerging and neglected. All types of these diseases occur throughout the world including Bangladesh. The results on the prevalence and effects of zoonotic diseases in humans and animals of Bangladesh are analyzed from the published literatures and presented in this report. It appears from the literature that there are about 1415 human pathogens of which 61% are zoonotic and nearly half of all human pathogens can be classified as emerging, of which 75% of these are caused by zoonotic pathogens. The major zoonotic bacterial diseases recorded in Bangladesh are Anthrax, Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Salmonellosis, Campylobacteriosis and Leptospirosis, of which only Anthrax has been reported as clinical outbreaks form in both the humans and cattle. During the period 2009 to 2012, anthrax caused death of hundreds of cattle and more than 650 cases of cutaneous anthrax in humans including fatalities in two humans associated with anthrax. The major reported viral zoonotic diseases in Bangladesh include Avian influenza, Rabies, Nipah virus infection, Japanese encephalitis, Rotavirus and Dengue fever. Avian influenza caused by highly pathogenic H5N1 in humans and poultry in Bangladesh and about six humans affected with H5N1 but all of them have recovered. Since 27 March 2007 when Avian influenza was reported to have occurred for the first time in Bangladesh, this virus spread in 51 out of 64 districts with more than 480 outbreaks, culled more than two million poultry birds and cost Tk. 55 billion (US $ 757.9 million) in Bangladesh. Rabies is considered as a priority zoonosis in Bangladesh and it is mainly transmitted to humans and food animals mainly through dog bite nearly 100,000 people and at least 2000 died of rabies in 2009 in Bangladesh. Nipah virus infection is an important emerging infectious disease has been recognized since 2001 in Bangladesh and up to February 2011, 173 humans cases have been identified, of which 110 (63.58%) died. Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a vector borne zoonotic disease, first recognized in Bangladesh since an outbreak in 1977 and 12.38% encephalitis patients had JE virus infection which was associated with mortality, physical disability and cognitive difficulties. Rotavirus is a worldwide distributed zoonotic disease affecting mammals and birds and it has been reported from Bangladesh in humans (23.75%), animals (12 to 43.78%) and broiler birds (13.15%) associated with diarrheic syndrome. Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 1964 and outbreak that began in 2000 predominantly caused by DENV-3 in which 5551 cases recovered and 93 Dengue related deaths were reported. The dermatomycosis has been reported in 9.3% cattle, 18.6% goats and 25.2% in contact humans. The major zoonotic parasites recorded in cats in Bangladesh include Paragonimus westermani (9.09%), Ancyclostoma tubaeforme (36.36%), Dirofilaria immitis (9.09%), Toxocara cati (45.45%) and Toxoplasma gondii (9.09%), in dogs include Diphyllobothrium latum (13.3%), Diphylidium caninum (16.69%), Echinococcus granulosus (9.17%), Ancylostomum caninum (9-100%), Gnathostoma spingerum (40.0%), Toxocara canis (23.3%), Trichuris vulpis (13.8%) and in pigs include Entaemebea histolytica (17.24%) and Balantidium coli (60.34%). The prevalence of zoonotic protozoan diseases recorded in humans in Bangladesh include amebiasis (E. histolytica 4.71% & E. dispar 12.6%), giardiasis (21% in children & 51% in malnourished children), cryptosporidiasis (1.4 to 3.5% in diarrheic patients) and visceral leishmaniasis (kala-azar) which was first reported in Jassore in 1824 but still sporadic outbreaks are occurring in the different districts in Bangladesh. Sero-surveillance studies showed 16 to 17% cattle, 17.65 to 53.6% sheep, 12.09 to 35.4% goats and 15.89% women had T. gondii antibodies in Bangladesh. It appears from these results that all types of emerging, reemerging and neglected zoonotic diseases are widely prevalent and pose a great threat to human health in Bangladesh. Neglected Veterinary medical profession and its extension services, poor people without any knowledge of zoonotic diseases who are in close contact with livestock and their products, and unhygienic processing, maintaining and marketing the livestock and livestock products have made the situation graver in Bangladesh.

Keywords: Zoonotic diseases, Bacterial, Viral, Parasitic, Fungal, Human, Animals

Location: Bogra and Tangail districts, Bangladesh.

Start Date: 00-00-2009

End Date: 00-00-2012

Program Area: Animal Health and Management

Commodity: Diseases

Objectives:

To study Public Health Threat Caused by Zoonotic Diseases in Bangladesh

Methodology:

Anthrax is endemic in Bangladesh and periodic outbreak of this malady in cattle have been a concern in this country from long time and Anthrax spore vaccine is used under field condition to control the disease. Published reports of anthrax in animals in Bangladesh date back to 1948. However, sporadic anthrax outbreaks in cattle and humans and elephant have been reported in Bangladesh. During 2009 to 2012, more than 25 outbreaks of anthrax have occurred simultaneously in both cattle and humans and more than 650 humans cases recorded in 15 districts during summer and monsoon seasons (April to October) from Bangladesh. An investigation of 25 anthrax outbreaks in 414 human cases showed 378 (91.30%) had cutaneous, 27 (6.52%) had gastro-intestinal and 11 (2.66%) had concurrent cutaneous and gastro-intestinal anthrax. Simultaneous investigation of 190 anthrax suspected animals, cattle (n = 126), goats (n = 59), sheep (n = 4) and buffalo (n = 1) were identified, of which 126 (66.32%) died for illness, 54 (28.42%) slaughtered after illness onset and 10 (5.26%) sold to the market. Majority of the patients developed cutaneous anthrax had history of butchering sick animals, handling raw meat, contact with animal skin or were present at slaughtering sites. Inadequate livestock vaccination coverage, lack of awareness of the risk of anthrax transmission from animal to humans, social norms and poverty contributed to these outbreaks. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by acid-fast bacillus of the Mycobacterium and the most common species are M. tuberculosis (man, non-human primates, cattle, dogs, swine, psittacines), M. bovis (cattle, dogs, swine, man) and M. avium (birds, swine, sheep). All the three species are capable of causing disease in man although M. tuberculosis is by far the most common. Human tuberculosis is the world’s second commonest cause of death from infectious disease after HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 1.7 million died and 9.4 million new cases of human TB emerged in the world in 2009, of which the majority were in Asia and Africa. Of the people who died of TB in 2008, it is estimated that 400,000 were infected with HIV. Bangladesh ranks 6th among 22 most TB affected countries (225/100,000 cases in 2009) in the world, with 300,000 new cases and 70,000 deaths reported every year (WHO, 2005). Nationwide tuberculosis prevalence survey in Bangladesh 2007 to 2009 detected an overall adjusted prevalence 79.4% per 100,000 persons ≥ 15 years and higher in males and rural residents (Anon. 2010e) Bovine tuberculosis (BTB), which is caused by M. bovis, is one of the most important zoonotic diseases worldwide. Of the 176 countries reported tuberculosis, 4 indicated BTB to be an exceptional occurrence, 62 reported as low sporadic occurrence, 21 reported it as enzootic, 3 reported a high occurrence and 7 stated that the disease exists but the occurrence is unknown. Between 1994 and 2000, 1931 human cases of culture-positive TB have been identified in France, of which 129 (6.7%) infected with M. bovis and 1802 with M. tuberculosis.

Source of Information: Bangl. J. Vet. Med. (2011). 9 (2): 95 - 120

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

Zoonotic diseases are common throughout the world and constitute an important threat to human health in developing countries like Bangladesh. It appears from the literatures that meat, milk, eggs, water and other foods contained high numbers of coliforms, staphylococci, salmonella pathogens. The poor people in particular may tend to be at risk from zoonotic diseases for a number of reasons: (a) The poor often live in close contact with their livestock and are thus at increased risk of contracting zoonotic diseases, (b) Access to education on the prevention of zoonotic diseases in often unavailable to the poor livestock keepers, (c) Poor consumers may be at greater risk from foodborne diseases, (d) Informal sales of animal products make the maintenance of hygienic conditions and the control of food quality very difficult, (e) In poor and remote areas, hygienic abattoirs and facilities for meat inspection are often limited. Contracting a zoonotic disease may have serious consequences for a poor person who will probably have poor access to healthcare and can ill afford to have his/her ability to work impaired by sickness. Neglected Veterinary medical profession and its extension services, poor people without any knowledge of zoonotic diseases who are in close contact with livestock and their products, and unhygienic processing, maintaining and marketing the livestock and livestock products have made the situation graver in Bangladesh. Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by acid-fast bacillus of the Mycobacterium and the most common species are M. tuberculosis (man, non-human primates, cattle, dogs, swine, psittacines), M. bovis (cattle, dogs, swine, man) and M. avium (birds, swine, sheep). All the three species are capable of causing disease in man although M. tuberculosis is by far the most common. Human tuberculosis is the world’s second commonest cause of death from infectious disease after HIV/AIDS. It is estimated that 1.7 million died and 9.4 million new cases of human TB emerged in the world in 2009, of which the majority were in Asia and Africa. Salmonellosis (Salmonella food poisoning and enteric paratyphosis) is a public health concern because most of the strains of Salmonellae are potentially pathogenic to humans and animals worldwide. There are over 1800 food-poisoning serotypes of Salmonella exist in the world and about 5 million human cases of salmonellosis are diagnosed annually in the United States and problem may be more severe in Bangladesh. There are more than 5,000 viruses known to man and they are evolving every day. Some important zoonotic virus diseases are associated with human deaths globally every year. Most of the statistics on the morbidity and mortality rates are taken from WHO reports.

Knowledge Management: Journal