title: [Prevalence of serum antibodies for the bacterium Brucella sp. in a tropical human population].
abstract: Prevalence of serum antibodies for the bacterium Brucella sp. in a tropical human population. Brucellosis is a systemic bacterial disease that can last years if not treated properly. The laboratory diagnosis is made by serological tests or isolation of the agent. We studied the prevalence of antibodies against Brucella sp. in inhabitants of rural communities of Cartago, Costa Rica, who are dedicated mainly to dairy cattle activities. We analyzed 714 representative samples with the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) and the standard agglutination test in microplate (SAT). The overall prevalence was 0.87%. No seroconversion was demonstrated for seropositive individuals. Even though 71% of the population mentioned consuming non-pasteurized milk, no statistically significant association was found (1.09 %, IC 0.30-2.77) between milk consumption and the presence of antibodies suggestive of infection by Brucella sp. As a brucellosis high-risk population, the absence of symptoms in the population agrees with the observed titers of antibodies, suggesting a low previous exposure to the agent.
authors.affiliation: Centro Nacional de Referencia en Bacteriología, Instituto Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza en Nutrición y Salud, Cartago, Costa Rica.
authors.forename: Grettel
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Chanto
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rojas
authors.forename: Adrián
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ching
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zúñiga
authors.forename: Edith
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.forename: Sonia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chaverri
authors.forename: Angelina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Asenjo
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Campos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000372:Agglutination Tests; D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002002:Brucella / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002417:Cattle; D002648:Child; D003364:Costa Rica / Q000453:epidemiology; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007074:Immunoglobulin G / Q000097:blood; D007075:Immunoglobulin M / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012424:Rural Population; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D007074:Immunoglobulin G; D007075:Immunoglobulin M