The Effect of Brucellosis on Women’s Health and Reproduction

Abstract

IntroductionBrucellosis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution which still remains endemic in some developing countries, causing devastating economic losses. Since it is transmissible to humans through direct contact with infected animals, consumption of their milk and dairy products, or inhalation of contaminated aerosols, it is considered a big threat for public health. At this point, the effect of Brucella infection on women's health and reproduction gains an extraordinary importance due to its potential harmful effects on female reproductive system and pregnancy. Therefore, in this report we aimed to review the available literature related to human brucellosis in order to characterize the basic microbiological features as well as the risk factors and clinical presentations of the disease and its complications related to various aspects of reproductive health. Materials and MethodsIn order to look for original articles, review articles, case series, case reports and editorials related to the effects of brucellosis on women's health and reproduction, various internet engines including PubMed, Up To Date, Google, Google Scholar and Cochrane Library were searched between February 2015 and June 2015. Directly or indirectly related information from 75 reports, the earliest reported in 1917 and the latest in 2015 were identified. The words used during the search process were "Brucella," "brucellosis, " "women's health, " "human pregnancy, " "human reproduction, " "abortion, " "preterm birth, " "intrauterine fetal demise, " and "intrauterine fetal death". Results General Features of Brucella Species and InfectionThe main pathogenic species worldwide are Brucella abortus (B. abortus), responsible for bovine brucellosis, Brucella melitensis (B. melitensis), the main etiologic agent of ovine and caprine brucellosis, and Brucella suis (B. suis), which has a wide host range, not being confined to swine (1). B. melitensis is responsible for the majority of human infections and is primarily food-borne. B. abortus and B. suis infections are generally sporadic and Brucella canis infections are the least common in humans and are generally laboratory-acquired (2,3). AbstractDue to its potential harmful effects on the general health and reproductive life of the women, in the light of available literature, it was aimed to review the effect of human brucellosis on women's health and reproduction. Data from 75 reports belonging to the years 1917 through 2015, obtained via a search on various internet sources by the words "Brucella", "brucellosis, " "women's health, " "human pregnancy, " "human reproduction, " "abortion, " "preterm birth, " "intrauterine fetal demise, " and "intrauterine fetal death" were used to characterize basic microbiological features together with the risk factors, clinical presentations and complications of the human brucellosis related to various aspects of reproductive well-being. A high rate of spontaneous abortion was a more consistent finding rather than high rates of preterm delivery and intra...

Human brucellosis in pregnancy – an overview

“…Thus, released endotoxins could also be an important cause of adverse obstetric outcomes, since endotoxins increase the frequency and intensity of uterine contractions by means of an oxytocin-like effect on uterine smooth muscles [10,43,44]. Finally, allergic mechanisms in chronic brucellosis may also cause spasms of the myometrium by histamine discharge [10,17]. In [27] SAT≥1:160 and blood cultures Khan et al, 2001 [25] SAT≥1:320 and blood cultures Elshamy and Ahmed, 2008 [21] STA≥1:160 Kurdoglu et al, 2010 [22] STA≥1:160 and blood cultures Buzgan et al, 2010 [26] STA≥1:160 and blood cultures Roushan et al, 2011 [24] STA≥1:160 and blood cultures Ali et al, 2016 [20] RBPT and blood cultures Glick et al, 2016 [28] Blood cultures www.bjbms.org addition, it has been recently observed that pathogenic Brucella species can proliferate in human trophoblasts and are able to interfere with the invasive capacity of extravillous trophoblasts.…”

“…The incidence and prevalence of brucellosis among pregnant women is unknown even today in many endemic regions [ 17 ]. According to various reports, a seroprevalence of brucellosis during pregnancy varied between 1.5% (13 seropositive out of 890 pregnant women) [ 18 ], 3.5% (18 out of 513) in rural areas of Saudi Arabia [ 19 ], 5.8% (25 out of 429) in Pakistan [ 20 ], and 12.2% (55 out of 450) in another study from Saudi Arabia [ 21 ].…”

Association of brucellosis to abortions in humans and domestic ruminants in Kagera ecosystem, Tanzania

“…In livestock, brucellosis results in reduced productivity, abortions and weak offsprings. Moreover, Brucella species occasionally cause spontaneous human abortions, but theories regarding whether they do so more frequently than do other infectious pathogens remain controversial (Khan, Mah, & Memish, ; Kurdoglu, Cetin, Kurdoglu, & Akdeniz, ).…”

Molecular characterization of Brucella species detected in humans and domestic ruminants of pastoral areas in Kagera ecosystem, Tanzania

“…Brucellosis is reported to be associated with abortions in humans and animals (Khan, Mah, & Memish, 2001; Kurdoglu, Cetin, Kurdoglu, & Akdeniz, 2015; Mathew, 2017; Megersa et al., 2011; Muma, Godfroid, Samui, & Skjerve, 2007; Nigro et al., 2011). This study detected Brucella in sera from abortive woman, cow and goat.…”