Brucellosis risk factors and milk hygiene handling practices in pastoral communities in Isiolo county, Kenya

The study was conducted from June to August 2014 in Isiolo Central division of Isiolo Sub-County and Sericho division of Garbatulla Sub-County and comprised two components: (i) a cross-sectional study on the milk-handling hygiene practices, where milk traders' households were the study units and (ii) a case-control study on the risk factors for Brucella spp. infection in humans. Results of the cross-sectional study showed that 26.74% of the respondents never washed their hands before milking, 60.47% never washed the udder before milking and 54.65% never withhold consumption of milk from animals under treatment with antibiotics. The case-control study included household units with previous cases of brucellosis (53.33%) and those without (46.67%) over the previous 5 years and identified drinking of raw milk as the main risk factor for infection (OR = 26.44; 95% CI: 8.04-86.99). Pastoralists' unhygienic handling of milk from production to market is suboptimal and this is due to poor knowledge on hygienic practices, poor knowledge on the risks associated with poor milk hygiene and lack of sufficient and potable water for cleaning of milk containers. Many pastoralists still consume milk raw and this is a major public health risk for milk-borne diseases.