Spatial Distribution and Epidemiological Factors of Brucellosis in Ardabil Province, Iran

Introduction: Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent infectious diseases in the world that infects humans directly through contaminated livestock or indirectly through animal products and induces high medical and economic damage annually. Objective: Using geographic information system (GIS) software to determine the hot spots of brucellosis and the spatial correlation and type of disease distribution. Methods: We extracted the incidence cases of the disease from 2016 to 2020 in this retrospective cross-sectional study using the disease registration system of Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. The interpolation method (IDW) was employed for spatial analysis and disease distribution and determination of hotspot points, Moran I and General G analysis were used to determine spatial autocorrelation at a significant level (P < 0.05). GIS software 10.4.1 was applied to determine areas. Results: 2679 cases of brucellosis were diagnosed in the province during the study that 96.97% were Iranian, 2.95% Azerbaijani, and 0.08% were Iraqi. 40.5% of patients were female and 59.5% were male. The highest number of infected cases was reported in 2020 with 29.2% and the lowest number was reported in 2016 with 16%. Rural areas had a high prevalence in terms of distribution and the north of Aslanduz and the central part of Sarein were determined as two significant rural areas of the disease. The trend of disease was increasing from east to west of the province. Conclusion: Brucellosis is very widespread in rural areas in Ardabil Province. Ardabil University of Medical Sciences is required to take practical and educational measures to control this disease in high-risk centers. It is expected to take measures in order to educate villagers.