Epidemiological Investigation of Human Brucellosis in Pakistan

Ali, Sultan; Nawaz, Zeeshan; Akhtar, Asif; Aslam, Rizwan; Zahoor, Muhammad Kashif; Ashraf, Muhammad

doi:10.5812/jjm.61764

Cited by 23 publications

(32 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(21 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…This nding is similar to that of a study conducted in Peshawar among hospital patients [41]. Persons from rural areas are often involved in birthing and herding of livestock and they are more dependent on livestock production putting them at the risk of infection [39]. A cross sectional study was conducted on rural population of the Punjab in India and seropositivity was also linked to a history assisting with abortions and calving [43].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Hassan¹,

Ali²,

Syed³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Brucellosis is a neglected disease of ruminants with zoonotic potential. It causes severe health problems in humans and economic loss. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted in Pakistan to determine the prevalence of human brucellosis and related risk factors. The objectives of the current cross-sectional study were to determine prevalence of Brucella infection in sera collected from patients at three hospitals of Abbottabad. Risk factors were investigated. Methods: A total of 500 blood samples were collected. A questionnaire was filled in for each patient to obtain information on age, gender, living area, brucellosis associated symptoms, associated risk factors, pregnancy and abortion history. Serum agglutination test (SAT) was performed to detect antibodies against brucellae. A genus specific BCSP-31 gene RT-PCR was used to detect Brucella DNA in the sample. Statistical analysis was done to determine odd ratios, risk ratios, 95% confidence intervals and p values. Results: A total of 13.6% (n=68) patients were found to be SAT positive. DNA was found in 11.4% (n=57) samples. The prevalence of brucellosis was reported to be higher in women (14.6%, n=44) than in man (12.1%, n=24). The age group of 25-50 years was found to be at higher risk for brucellosis (14.5%, n=50). “Animal contact” was reported as the main risk factor followed by “consumption of raw animal products”. About 9.9% pregnant women (n=13) were found brucellosis positive. Of these 23.8% (n=5) had an abortion history. Conclusions: The present study reports a striking prevalence of brucellosis among patients including pregnant women at three hospitals of Abbottabad. These findings must foster strategies for controlling human brucellosis at household level, raising of awareness about brucellosis in hospital and family doctors and finally in setting up an eradication program in the dairy industry.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 81%

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Hassan¹,

Ali²,

Syed³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The same could be expected for sheep and goat milk. Human brucellosis has been reported (3.6-21.7%) in the country depending upon the exposure level, region and type of the diagnostic tool used [32,34,35,[51][52][53][54]. Thus, brucellosis in animals will remain a continuous public health significant threat-if not controlled.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Revisiting Brucellosis in Small Ruminants of Western Border Areas in Pakistan

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brucellosis, globally known bacterial zoonosis, is endemic to Pakistan. B. abortus in bovines, B. melitensis in small ruminants and B. canis in dogs mainly cause this disease. A total of 1821 sera (1196 from sheep and 625 from goats) from animal herds near the Pakistan–Afghanistan border were collected. In parallel testing of sera for anti-Brucella antibodies (B. abortus and B. melitensis) was carried out by RBPT and indirect ELISA. The presence of Brucella DNA in sera was tested by real-time PCR. The overall percentage of seropositive samples was 0.99 (18/1821) by both tests. All positive samples originated from Baluchistan territory which translated into 1.76% (18/1021). None of the positive sera had signals for Brucella DNA and none of sera from goats carried detectable antibodies. Both tests showed an almost perfect agreement with Kappa statistics. The flock size was found to be associated with the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies. The samples of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) tested negative in both serological tests and hence were not processed for real-time PCR. The present study shows the presence of anti-Brucella antibodies in sheep in the Baluchistan region of Pakistan. Diagnostic services need to be improved and test and slaughter policies might be implemented for eradication of Brucella infection in these areas. Awareness about the infection is needed at the farmer’s level. Isolation and molecular biology of the isolates could help with understanding the prevailing etiology in a better way.

show abstract

“…Annually, more than 500,000 new human cases of brucellosis are reported worldwide [5,11,12]. In Pakistan, human brucellosis was recorded in 16% of the population and was higher in rural residents and individuals with animal contact [13]. Human brucellosis related to B. abortus was reported in 6.9% high-risk professionals such as abattoir workers, veterinarians and farmers from the Potohar plateau of northeastern Pakistan [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute Febrile Illness Caused by Brucella abortus Infection in Humans in Pakistan

Saddique

Ali

Akhter

et al. 2019

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Brucellosis is a zoonosis of great and worldwide public health concern that can cause a severe febrile illness in humans. In Pakistan, brucellosis is a critical problem in both animals and humans. This study aimed to gain insight into its prevalence and to analyze the potential risk factors of patients with acute febrile illness (AFI) of an unknown cause, at the hospitals of Rawalpindi and Islamabad in Pakistan. In total, 446 blood samples were collected from patients and screened for brucellosis using the Rose Bengal Plat Test (RBPT). All the serum samples were investigated for Brucella DNA using specific real-time PCR. Age, sex, occupation, urbanicity, socioeconomic status and history of animal contact were recorded and assessed as potential risk factors. The proportion of acute febrile illness patients for whom brucellosis could be suspected was 10.1% by the RBPT. Brucella DNA was detected in 26 (5.8%) cases and identified as B. abortus. Contact with infected animals, consumption of raw milk and socioeconomic status showed a highly significant (p < 0.05) correlation with seropositivity. Elderly patients (19.7% RBPT and 12.1% PCR) and females (13% RBPT and 9.3% PCR) were of high risk of brucellosis. Patients suffering from brucellosis-related manifestations should be screened for brucellosis, especially those in contact with animals or those consuming their unprocessed products, given the increased risk. The results of this study, which highlight that Brucella abortus as an important cause of acute febrile illnesses in humans, aid the development of effective control strategies for human brucellosis in Pakistan.

show abstract

Epidemiological Investigation of Human Brucellosis in Pakistan

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Seroprevalence and Molecular Diagnosis of Brucellosis Among Patients at Selected Hospitals of Abbottabad, Pakistan

Revisiting Brucellosis in Small Ruminants of Western Border Areas in Pakistan

Acute Febrile Illness Caused by Brucella abortus Infection in Humans in Pakistan

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About