Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41893701›Full record

ArticleVeterinary sciences2026

Laboratory Surveillance of Bovine Brucellosis: Predictors of Rose Bengal Test Positivity in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa (2021-2024).

Themba Titus Sigudu, Phoka Caiphus Rathebe, Masilu D Masekameni, Tintswalo Mercy Hlungwani, Khuthatshelo Vincent Mphaga, James Wabwire Oguttu

Abstract read
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Article in Veterinary sciences, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Themba Titus SiguduDivision of Health and Society, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-9497-3089
Phoka Caiphus RathebeDepartment of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-9095-354X
Masilu D MasekameniDevelopmental Studies, School of Social Sciences, University of South Africa, Pretoria 0003, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-5712-5291
Tintswalo Mercy HlungwaniDivision of Health and Society, School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2000, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0002-2520-4291
Khuthatshelo Vincent MphagaDepartment of Environmental Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, Doornfontein Campus, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2000, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-9815-5999
James Wabwire OguttuDepartment of Agriculture and Animal Health, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, Johannesburg 1709, Gauteng, South Africa.ORCID 0000-0001-6810-4437

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Bovine brucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease in South Africa with significant consequences for livestock productivity and public health. Although routine laboratory surveillance data from the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) are widely collected, they are seldom used to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of disease detection. This study aimed to examine temporal, seasonal, and spatial predictors of RBT positivity for bovine brucellosis in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. A retrospective observational study was conducted using routine laboratory records from the Mpumalanga Provincial Veterinary Laboratory between January 2021 and December 2024. The dataset included all bovine serum samples with complete information on testing date, municipality, and RBT results. Laboratory submissions were recorded as batches, defined as groups of serum samples submitted together to the laboratory as part of a single surveillance or investigation event. The primary outcome was batch-level RBT positivity, defined as the presence of at least one RBT-positive serum sample within a submission batch. Temporal (year of testing), seasonal (season of submission), and spatial (local municipality area) variables were evaluated as predictors of RBT positivity using logistic regression models. Mixed-effects logistic regression accounted for the clustering of submissions within municipalities. A total of 568 submission batches comprising 67,974 serum samples were analysed, of which 6182 tested positive, yielding an overall positivity of 9.1%. RBT positivity increased significantly in 2023 compared with 2021 (AOR = 2.47; 95% CI: 2.27-2.68). Seasonal variation was observed, with higher odds of positivity in spring (AOR = 1.80; 95% CI: 1.65-1.97) and lower odds in autumn and winter relative to summer. Mixed-effects modelling indicated significant residual spatial heterogeneity in RBT positivity across municipalities. Routine laboratory surveillance data can provide valuable epidemiological insights into the temporal, seasonal, and spatial dynamics of bovine brucellosis detection and support risk-based surveillance strategies in endemic livestock systems.

Indexed as

epidemiologyseasonal variationspatial heterogeneitytemporal trendszoonotic disease

Identifiers

PMID41893701
PMCPMC13030099

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