Selected endemic zoonoses in pigs presenting for slaughter in Kampala, Uganda

Leptospirosis, brucellosis, and Q fever are bacterial zoonoses that cause acute febrile illness in people as well as reproductive losses in pigs. Pig keeping is an increasingly important livelihood to millions of smallholder farmers in Uganda because of the rapid rise in demand for pork.

The prevalence of leptospirosis and Q fever in pigs is unknown, and the few studies of porcine brucellosis have estimated a range of seroprevalence. Therefore, we surveyed the prevalence of leptospirosis, brucellosis, and Q fever in pigs using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction to determine the potential importance of these zoonoses to the growing pig sector in Uganda.