Original scientific paper
Brucellosis – Regionally Emerging Zoonotic Disease?
Mayada Gwida
; Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Jena, Germany
Sascha Al Dahouk
; RWTH Aachen University, Department of Internal Medicine III, Aachen, Germany
Falk Melzer
; Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Jena, Germany
Uwe Rösler
; Freie Universität Berlin, Institut für Tier- und Umwelthygiene Fachbereich Veterinärmedizin, Berlin, Germany
Heinrich Neubauer
orcid.org/0000-0002-8287-6705
; Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Jena, Germany
Herbert Tomaso
orcid.org/0000-0001-6657-833X
; Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut,Institute of Bacterial Infections and Zoonoses, Jena, Germany
Abstract
Aim To gain deeper insight into the seroprevalence of brucellosis,
which remains a zoonotic disease of worldwide
public health concern, by reviewing studies from countries
including North Africa, the Middle East, and India.
Methods Studies on brucellosis performed in countries
that are neighbors or important trading partners of the
European Union and on trade animals and their products
were analyzed. We reviewed 37 seroprevalence studies on
brucellosis published from 1948 to 2009 retrieved from
Pubmed, Google, and ScienceDirect.
Results The set of studies was heterogeneous in the number
of samples and laboratory tests used. We included
studies from Algeria (n = 1), Egypt (n = 7), India (n = 3), Iran
(n = 3), Iraq (n = 1), Jordan (n = 5), Libya (n = 3), Saudi Arabia
(n = 3), Syria (n = 1), Turkey (n = 5), and Yemen (n = 2). The
total number of animals in these studies was 116 317 (cattle
75 375; buffalo 9644; sheep 10 550; goats 14 447; camels
6301). The prevalence of brucellosis in different animal
species varied widely. Representative surveillance data
have not recently been published in any of the countries.
Conclusions Wars in the Middle East, insufficient preventive
measures, the lack of adequate control programs in
some countries, as well as uncontrolled animal transportation
through “open” borders increased the risk that brucellosis
will spread in some regions. New seroprevalence data
are needed urgently to evaluate the current situation and
for continuous monitoring of necessary control programs.
Keywords
Bovine brucellosis; ovine/caprine brucellosis; Brucella; emerging zoonosis; epidemiology; prevalence
Hrčak ID:
58559
URI
Publication date:
15.8.2010.
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