African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 3 (12), pp. 631-636, December 2004          
ISSN 1684–5315 © 2004 Academic Journals

Review

Contributions of biotechnology to the control and prevention of brucellosis in Africa

Henk L. Smits¹ and Sally J Cutler²

¹KIT Biomedical Research, Royal Tropical Institute / Koninklijk Instituut voor de Tropen (KIT), Amsterdam, The Netherlands and ²Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Weybridge, UK.

*Corresponding author E- mail: h.smits@kit.nl; Tel: 31-20-5665470 ; Fax: 31-20-6971841.

Accepted 22 November, 2004

Zoonotic diseases such as brucellosis have a major impact on the health and economic prosperity of the developing world. Recent advances in our understanding of brucellosis and new developments in diagnostics and vaccine technology provide unique opportunities for biotechnology companies in developing countries to make an essential contribution to the control of this disease.

Key words: Brucellosis, biotechnology, zoonosis, livestock, public health, diagnostics, vaccine.