Why is BRUCELLOSIS endemic in Latin America?

BRUCELLOSIS is spread to humans mostly from farm animals
Answer:
What is brucellosis?
It is a contagious, costly disease of ruminant animals that also affects humans. Although brucellosis can attack other animals, its main threat is to cattle, bison, and swine. The disease is also known as contagious abortion or Bang's disease. In humans, it's known as undulant fever because of the severe intermittent fever accompanying human infection or Malta fever because it was first recognized as a human disease on the island of Malta. How is brucellosis spread? Brucellosis is commonly transmitted to susceptible animals by direct contact with infected animals or with an environment that has been contaminated with discharges from infected animals. Aborted fetuses, placental membranes or fluids, and other vaginal discharges present after an infected animal has aborted or calved are all highly contaminated with infectious Brucella organisms. Cows may lick those materials or the genital area of other cows or ingest the disease-causing organisms with contaminated food or water. Despite occasional exceptions, the general rule is that brucellosis is carried from one herd to another by an infected or exposed animal. This mode of transmission occurs when a herd owner buys replacement cattle or bison that are infected or have been exposed to infection prior to purchase. The disease may also be spread when wild animals or animals from an affected herd mingle with brucellosis-free herds. How can people be protected from brucellosis? Ranchers, farmers, or animal managers should clean and disinfect calving areas and other places likely to become contaminated with infective material. All individuals should wear sturdy rubber or plastic gloves when assisting calving or aborting animals, and scrub well with soap and water afterward. Precautions against drinking raw milk or eating unpasteurized milk byproducts are also important. Ultimately, the best prevention is to eliminate brucellosis from all animals in the area. How common is human brucellosis in this country? Fortunately, the combination of pasteurization of milk and progress in the eradication of the disease in livestock has resulted in substantially fewer human cases than in the past. Ninety eight cases of human brucellosis were reported in 1997, a fraction of the 6,400 cases reported in 1947. Sixty two (62) cases of brucellosis in humans have been reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 1998 (provisional data).

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