Abstract

Objective: Brucellosis is the most common zoonotic disease worldwide. The main way of transmission is contact with infected animal tissues or ingestion of infected animal products. Brucellosis is endemic in Latin America, Africa, the Mediterranean region, the Middle East, and Western Asia. Over 500 000 cases are reported annually worldwide.

This study aimed to evaluate our region’s epidemiological, demographic, laboratory data and clinical findings of endemic brucellosis cases.

Methods: Brucellosis patients over the age of 18 who applied to our hospital between January 01, 2022, and December 31, 2022, were included in the study. The patients were evaluated retrospectively in terms of their complaints, physical examination findings, complete blood count, liver function tests, C-reactive protein value, sedimentation rate, ferritin and vitamin D values, standard tube agglutination and Coombs agglutination test results and culture growths.

Results: Fifty-seven percent of the patients were male, and 67% were between the ages of 20 and 50. Sixty-nine percent of the patients lived in rural areas, and 88% of them had consumed unpasteurized milk or dairy products as a risk factor. The most common complaints at presentation were fever, joint pain, and sweating, and the most affected system was the musculoskeletal system. Brucella spp. growth was detected in the blood culture of 60% of the patients whose blood cultures were taken.

Conclusion: Brucellosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients presenting with complaints such as joint pain, fever and sweating in regions with large numbers of people dealing with animal husbandry.