title: Epidemiology of human brucellosis in southern Saudi Arabia.
abstract: There have been indications that human brucellosis is widely distributed in Saudi Arabia. In order to assess the situation in the south, and as a part of a nationwide prevalence survey, a sample of 4900 subjects was randomly selected for a house-to-house survey. Investigations included an interview, clinical examination and blood sampling for antibody titre determinations. Blood samples were first screened for Brucella antibodies by a microplate agglutination test to measure the exposed rate. Reactive sera were further analysed by the standard tube agglutination and 2-mercaptoethanol tests. A total of 4794 completed the study. Results of laboratory tests indicated that a significant proportion of the population in the southern region (19.2%) had serological evidence of exposure to Brucella antigen, and 2.3% had active disease. Direct contact with domestic animals and consumption of raw products of animal origin were identified as the main risk factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: S R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Alballa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D000942:Antigens, Bacterial / Q000097:blood; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000276:immunology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011897:Random Allocation; D012307:Risk Factors; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012529:Saudi Arabia / Q000453:epidemiology; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class
chemical_list: D000942:Antigens, Bacterial