Open AccessPrevalence of Human Brucellosis in a Suspected Population of District Swat
Author(s) -
. Ziaullah,
Momin Khan,
Anwar Ali,
Akhtar Nawab,
Ihsanuddin,
Muhammad Ayub Khan
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
journal of saidu medical college
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 1819-4583
DOI - 10.52206/jsmc.2020.10.1.293
Subject(s) - medicine , brucellosis , raw milk , direct agglutination test , population , outpatient clinic , veterinary medicine , brucella , population study , environmental health , serology , immunology , antibody , pathology
Background: Brucellosis is caused by a gram-negative, aerobic, non-spore forming, coccobacillus, transmitted by consumption ofcontaminated dairy products. Close contact with infected animals is also a risk factor. Diagnosis is difficult due to non-specificmanifestations like fever, back pain, arthralgia, muscle aches, and anemia, thereby diagnosis is based on laboratory tests.Although under rated, 50,000 new cases of human brucellosis worldwide are reported annually. In Pakistan, despite the diseasebeing endemic, data is limited. Moreover, the increased consumption of raw dairy products has posed an additional risk.Objective: To identify the prevalence of human brucellosis in the suspected population of District Swat.Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary-care hospital, of Swat from November 2017-October 2018. From the outpatient department, 150 participants were enrolled being suspected of having human brucellosis.Every participant was screened for Brucella antibodies by Serum Plate Agglutination Test (SPAT) and confirmed through Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).Results: The mean age of the participants was 29.65+11.27 years, 34% of which were 21-30 years of age. Most (62%, n=93) werefemales and a greater proportion of them consume fresh milk (45.3%), followed by fresh milk and milk pack both (30%). Around 119(79.3%) were positive on SPAT, 50.7% on ELISA, and 49.3% on PCR with a significantly higher proportion in females (p=0.001).Conclusion: Human brucellosis was found to be highly prevalent among suspected population exposed to raw dairy products witha definitive diagnosis found in almost half of the samples collected.