Emerging and Re-Emerging Bacterial Zoonoses: A Nigerian Perspective on Control, Prevention and Intervention

A propensity to re-emerge is a characteristic of bacterial zoonoses, diseases caused by bacteria that can be transmitted to humans from animals. Research shows that their transmission occurs in Nigeria, the most populated nation in Africa. However, due to insufficient epidemiological surveillance of bacterial zoonoses, the magnitude and burden of these infectious diseases is not fully acknowledged. They are therefore not a priority target of the national public health policy. This lesser concern is regardless of their likely role in the extensive prevalence of non-malarial undifferentiated fever in Nigeria. Several animal reservoirs and arthropod vectors of transmission have been identified for these diseases, Yet, the increase in cases of undiagnosed febrile illness emphasizes the imperative to undertake an extensive evaluation of other possible reservoirs, vectors and transmission cycles that may raise the local risk of zoonotic bacterial infections. Animal health interventions have been advanced as an economically viable and practical approach. Further, facilitating the operation of a community-based One Health program is essential to providing the comprehensive epidemiological information that is required in order to improve prioritization of bacterial zoonoses. This would generate impetus for much-needed investment in relevant public health interventions.