Brucellosis as a cause of acute febrile illness in Egypt.
To develop better estimates of brucellosis incidence, we conducted population-based surveillance for acute febrile illness (AFI) in Fayoum governorate (population 2347249), Egypt during two summer periods (2002 and 2003). All hospitals and a representative sample of community healthcare providers were included. AFI patients without obvious etiology were tested for brucellosis by culture and serology. Incidence estimates were calculated adjusting for sampling methodology and study period. Of 4490 AFI patients enrolled, 321 (7%) met the brucellosis case definition. The estimated annual incidence of brucellosis per 100000 population was 64 and 70 in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The median age of brucellosis patients was 26 years and 70% were male; 53% were initially diagnosed as typhoid fever. Close contact with animals and consumption of unpasteurized milk products were associated with brucellosis. The high incidence of brucellosis in Fayoum highlights its public health importance, and the need to implement prevention strategies in humans and animals.
Jennings
Gregory J
GJ
US Naval Medical Research Unit-3 (NAMRU-3), Cairo, Egypt.
Hajjeh
Rana A
RA
Girgis
Fouad Y
FY
Fadeel
Moustafa A
MA
Maksoud
Mohamed A
MA
Wasfy
Momtaz O
MO
El-Sayed
Nasr
N
Srikantiah
Padmini
P
Luby
Stephen P
SP
Earhart
Kenneth
K
Mahoney
Francis J
FJ
D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004534:Egypt / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D018571:Sentinel Surveillance