Prevalence of Brucellosis in West Azarbaijan Province, Iran from 2009 to 2010

Brucellosis, with regard to public health and its impact on socio-economic status of society is important matter in the world that can be transmitted to humans through contact with animals or their products as an occupational hazard to persons. Thus, its prevention, control and eradication are a major challenge for public health policy makers. This survey analyzes the prevalence of brucellosis in West Azarbaijan province, Iran. This was a descriptive-analytical study in which 152 cases of brucellosis from 2009 up to 2010. The cases were defined by clinical symptoms and confirmed by a positive standard agglutination test. Titer 1: 80 or greater using standard tube agglutination method was estimated as a positive result. Information about the sex, age, location, occupational risk, contact with the animals recorded by health stuff. Patient's data was analyzed and described by using SPSS software and analyzed with T test and X-2. 152 cases were studied. Most of them were male. (63.16%) and married (65.7%). Mean age of them was (37.46) in the female group. The mean age of patients was 36.84 years. The mean age in rural patients was 31.23 years and in urban 39.56 years old. Their hospitalization period was from 1 to 14 days (Mean: 7.5 days). The epidemic peak occurs in May (31.5%) that is closely related to the months associated with delivery and abortion in animals, it might be expected that occupational exposure, production and consumption of fresh cheese would result in a peak of human cases in this month. Most of them were lived in Urmia city and vicinity. Any of them were taught about prevention of disease. There was a relationship between sex with age (p< 0.001) and with place of living (p< 0.05). Farmers are more affected but, as females are mostly cooperating in stockbreeding tasks, homemaker females are also greatly affected. In villages, students also take share in stockbreeding tasks and help their parents, so the prevalence rate is also high among them. In other surveys, contact with livestock and husbandry are also forming some of risk factors. According to this study, cattle breeders in villages are the most affected groups. People training, about transition paths, prevention methods, food supply and delivery supervising could decrease disease prevalence.