Frequency and characteristics of Brucellosis patients in Golestan province from 2011 to 2015

Introduction: Brucellosis is a common widespread zoonotic disease between humans and livestock with major economic and health problems caused by various species of brucella. The disease is a major public health issue throughout the world and one of the most socioeconomic problems in many developing countries. Aim of this study was to report the information available at the provincial health center about the frequency and characteristics of patients with brucellosis in Golestan province. Materials and Methods: This study was descriptive cross-sectional. The study population includes all patients with brucellosis diagnosed from the April 2011 to March 2015 in the Golestan province s health center on the basis of a serological method .The data gathering tool was a questionnaire that included demographic information, clinical presentation and examinations, history of exposure, laboratory findings, and treatment protocols. Descriptive statistics were reported as frequency and mean ± standard deviation and analyzed by SPSS version 22. Results: In this study, a total of 1788 cases of brucellosis with mean age (± SD) were reported (34.17 ± 17.10 years). The number of cases in men was 1163 (65.04%) and in 625 women (34.95%). The mean age of men with brucellosis was lower than that of women and Villagers with brucellosis also had a lower age than those living in the city. People who had a history of contact with infected animals were younger than the others. Musculoskeletal pain (79.69%) and fever (76.45%) were the most commonly reported clinical symptoms. A total of 26 patients (1.45%) had complications, of which arthritis (1.1%) was the most common complication of the disease, and spondylitis and orchitis were, 0.22% and 11.0%, respectively. Conclusion: Overall, the results indicate that brucellosis is still a health problem in the province. The high incidence of brucellosis in villages and the lack of full coverage of animal vaccination and the link between livestock and livestock businesses are significant.

Keywords:

Brucellosis , Brucella Infection , Zoonotic disease , Malta Fever