Geographic disparities of brucellosis distribution in Neyshabur between 2014 and 2016: a cross-sectional study based on geographical information systems

Brucellosis is one of the most common diseases among humans and animals and is one of the most important public health issues. In this study due to the wide range of livestock breeding in Neyshabur and Firouzeh, the geographic disparities of the disease was visualized and analyzed in cummunity-level during 2014-2016.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in Neyshabur (Neyshabour University of Medical Sciences) between 2014-2016. Data were collected for all people with brucellosis who referred to Neyshabur health centers including age, sex, season of incidence, year of illness, residency, contact with animals and use of non-pasteurized dairy products. The spatial distribution of the disease was mapped according to the country divisions for three years using geographical information systems.

A total of 840 cases were reported during the years 2014-2016. The incidence rate by urban, rural and total was 24.41, 86.97, and 62.35, respectively in 2014, 11.46, 71.44, and 47.84 respectively in 2015, and 5.98, 86, and 54.50 respectively in 2016 per 100,000 people. The incidence rate decreased in 2015, but it increased again in 2016. The incidence rate was increasing in Sarvaleit village and decreasing in Zebarkhan district.

Neyshabour and Firoozeh are among the most polluted and susceptible regions of the country in terms of brucellosis. And the spatial distribution of this disease in the villages of these regions varies with the level of livestock dispersal in these areas.