Seroprevalence of Brucellosis among high risk individuals in Guilan, Iran

BACKGROUND Brucellosis is a major public health problem in developing countries and has remained endemic in Iran. The aim of this study was to investigate the Seroprevalence of Brucellosis among high risk individuals in Guilan, Iran. METHODS In a cross-sectional study, 478 blood samples from people living in rural areas (n = 292) and 186 slaughterhouse workers were screened by slide agglutination and microplate agglutination tests. Seropositive specimens were analyzed with Elisa for IgG and IgM antibody. RESULTS Seroprevalence of brucellosis among slaughterhouse workers and the people living in rural areas were 9.8% (n = 18) and 5.5% (n = 16), respectively (p = 0.04). A significant association was observed between the seropositivity and type of abattoir (p = 0.04) and contact with animals (p = 0.02) among slaughterhouse workers as well as consumption of unpasteurized milk products (p = 0.02) in people living in rural areas. IgG antibodies titer was higher than IgM in seropositive cases of the slaughterhouse workers and the people living in rural areas. CONCLUSIONS Seroprevalence of brucellosis in slaughterhouse workers was higher than people living in rural areas. Consumption of raw products and direct contact with domestic animals were found to be significant risk factor for brucellosis. High titer of IgG antibody among the two study groups indicated that most seropositive subjects were in chronic phase of brucellosis.