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Investigation of a human brucellosis outbreak in Douz, Tunisia, 2018
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Nejib Charaa, Rabaa Ghrab, Aicha Ben Othman, Mohamed Makhlouf, Hejer Ltaief, Nissaf Ben Alaya, Mohamed Chahed
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Epidemiol Health. 2022;44:e2022048. Published online May 18, 2022
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2022048
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Abstract
OBJECTIVES
In 2017, the incidence of human brucellosis in Tunisia was 9.8 per 100,000 population. In the Douz district, 2 cases were reported in March 2018. Prior to that date, the last indigenous cases to be reported in Douz had been in 2015. This study aimed to identify the source of this new contamination and recommend control interventions.
METHODS This case-control study included residents of Douz who presented with clinical symptoms of brucellosis and had a subsequent Wright test antibody titer ≥ 1/160. The controls were neighbors of the infected cases who had a negative Rose Bengal test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to estimate the odds ratios of risk factors. Goats belonging to the cases and controls were actively screened.
RESULTS Twenty-five infected cases and 52 uninfected controls were enrolled. All infected cases had consumed goat milk and 92% had purchased it from the same breeder. Consumption of goat milk from this breeder (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 30.78; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6.47 to 235.91) and overall consumption of raw goat milk (aOR, 14.84; 95% CI, 2.04 to 310.44) were independent risk factors for brucellosis. The breeder had 18 goats, 5 of which were smuggled from a neighboring country. Three of those goats were diagnosed with brucellosis.
CONCLUSIONS Consumption of raw milk from smuggled sick goats was the main risk factor in this outbreak. The sick goats were slaughtered and an education campaign was conducted. Vaccination, control of cross-border animal movements, and control of goat milk sales must be strengthened to prevent the spread of brucellosis in southwestern Tunisia.
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Summary
Key Message
Human brucellosis, despite being a major economic and health problem and the availability of proven control methods, is still endemic in North African countries. The scarcity of epidemiological data, under-reporting, certain weaknesses in surveillance systems and the lack of well-conducted outbreak investigations, contribute to this endemic state. This field epidemiological investigation of a human brucellosis outbreak highlighted the importance of serological surveillance, the slaughter of infected animals, vaccination, control of animal movements across borders and pasteurization of milk in the fight against this disease.
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Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by  - Long ignored but making a comeback: a worldwide epidemiological evolution of human brucellosis
Zhiguo Liu, Liping Gao, Miao Wang, Min Yuan, Zhenjun Li
Emerging Microbes & Infections.2024;[Epub] CrossRef - Native circulating Brucella melitensis lineages causing a brucellosis epidemic in Qinghai, China
Hongmei Xue, Zhijun Zhao, Jianling Wang, Li Ma, Jiquan Li, Xuxin Yang, Lingling Ren, Liqing Xu, Zhiguo Liu, Zhenjun Li
Frontiers in Microbiology.2023;[Epub] CrossRef
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