Seroprevalence of Brucellosis in Western Rajasthan: A Study from a Tertiary Care Centre

Brucellosis is a significant bacterial zoonotic disease with a high seroprevalence in low-to-middle-income countries where there is a significant contact of humans with animals. This prospective study was conducted to observe the seroprevalence of brucellosis in 75 symptomatic patients with pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) and 75 high-risk individuals (10 veterinarians, 15 milkmen and 50 healthy contacts of symptomatic patients) with possible exposure to brucellosis. Serum samples collected from these patients and individuals were subjected to rose Bengal test (RBT) and ELISA for the detection of IgM and IgG antibodies. RBT was positive in 50 samples (40 PUO and 10 high risk), of which 25 (33.3%) PUO cases had detectable IgM antibodies, whereas IgG antibodies were detected in 20 patients. None of samples from high-risk individuals was reactive for IgM/IgG antibodies by ELISA. The overall seroprevalence in this study was 16.7% (33.3% in PUO patients). Being a predominantly livestock rearing area, brucellosis is a significant health-care problem in this part of India with this entity being linked to 33% of PUO cases.