title: Trend of human brucellosis over a decade at tertiary care centre in North Karnataka.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Brucellosis is an important zoonotic disease. India having a major agrarian population is expected to have a higher prevalence. However, due to lack of laboratory facility or awareness among clinicians, the disease is largely underreported. The aim of this study was to know the prevalence and trend of human brucellosis over a decade, in patients attending a teaching hospital in North Karnataka, and to understand their geographical distribution.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study was conducted from January 2006 to December 2015 at a tertiary care teaching hospital in North Karnataka. A total of 3610 serum samples were evaluated from suspected cases of brucellosis. All serum samples were initially screened by Rose Bengal plate test, and positive samples were further analysed by Serum agglutination test (SAT) using standard Brucella abortus antigen from Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, Uttar Pradesh, India. A titre above or equal to 1:80 IU/ml was considered as positive. Demographic data such as age, sex and native place of these patients were also analysed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that human brucellosis is present in North Karnataka. The overall seropositivity of brucellosis in suspected cases was 5.1%. The positive titres ranged from 1:80 to 163,840 IU/ml. The majority of the patients were from Gadag, Koppal and Haveri districts of North Karnataka.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our study confirms the presence of human brucellosis in the northern part of Karnataka. Further studies to understand the prevalence of animal brucellosis in these areas will help in implementing prevention measures.
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: D P
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: G S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Ajantha
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Shubhada
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kalabhavi
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hosamani
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Appannanavar
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, SDM College of Medical Sciences and Hospital, Dharwad, Karnataka, India.
authors.forename: R D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D002002:Brucella / Q000276:immunology*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016036:Seroepidemiologic Studies; D062606:Tertiary Care Centers; D019371:Topography, Medical
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial