TRENDS IN THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BRUCELLOSIS CASES INIRAN DURING THE LAST DECADE

Background and Aim : Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonotic diseases that impose aserious public health burden on some countries in the world. Annually, the World HealthOrganization reports more than ۵۰۰۰۰۰ new cases of human brucellosis. The disease is endemicin most parts of Iran; especially, in areas where people live in close contact with infected animals.According to data from the Ministry of Health, the average incidence of brucellosis in Iran was ۲۲cases per ۱۰۰۰۰۰۰ population, with a decreasing trend of surveillance.Methods : This study is a cross-sectional survey that was carried out from ۲۰۱۱-۲۰۲۰ in allprovinces of Iran and among patients with clinical symptoms.Results : During the last decade, a total of ۱۷۳۵۲۶ cases were reported from different provincesof Iran, with a higher frequency of occurrence in males (۵۸.۲%) living in rural areas (۷۷%), ascompared to those in urban areas (۲۳%). Also, brucellosis was more common in the summer season(June) and most of the cases were via contact with infected livestock (۹۱%) and consumption ofunpasteurized dairy products (۷۸% in rural areas and ۷۶% in the urban areas).Conclusion : The failure to effectively control brucellosis may be attributed to lack of knowledgeabout the disease, consumption of unpasteurized dairy and raw meat, lack of proper and safevaccines for prevention and eradication programs, lack of rapid detection systems, and ineffectivemethods of isolating infected animals. Therefore, education and advancement of people’sknowledge are key to the prevention and control of the disease.

کلیدواژه ها:

Brucellosis ، epidemiology ، Iran