Abstract

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the bacterium known as Brucella. Consumption of unpasteurized dairy products, inhalation of aerosol carrying the bacteria and occupational contact with infected livestock are the main causes of infection. This paper discusses the brucellosis prevalence among patients visiting the Hawtat Sudair General Hospital during the period from December 2012 to January 2017. Methods: The data of samples tested serologically for Brucella spp. infection were collected from the microbiology laboratory at Hawtat Sudair General Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and analyzed statistically looking at socio-demographic (i.e. age) in relation to cases of brucellosis. Results: 1286 samples tested for Brucella spp. (B. melitensis and B. abortus), 489 (38.03%) samples were positive for Brucella spp. with various age groups having different levels of infected cases. The majority of cases were in the age group from 30 to < 50 years with less cases in the younger age groups <18 and from 18 to < 30 years. We found more cases of B. abortus infection compared to B. melitensis infection with 88.1% of the samples were positive for both B. melitensis and B. abortus. Conclusion: The study confirms that brucellosis is still endemic in Hawtat Sudair city, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Keywords: Brucella spp. · brucellosis · zoonotic · prevalence · Hawtat Sudair city

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