Seroprevalence of Malta Fever in Veterinary Staff of Lorestan Province Using Indirect ELISA Method in 2018-2019

Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases considered as a health and economic problem in many countries, such as Iran in the Middle East. Humans are infected with this disease as a result of direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. The prevalence of this disease is greater among veterinary staff as one of the high risk groups. The main purpose of this study was to determine of Brucella seroprevalence in the veterinary staff of Lorestan province using the indirect ELISA method.

This descriptive cross- sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2019.Total of 92 serum samples of veterinary staff with a history of contact with animals were tested for antibody against Brucella by commercial kit. 

Total of serum samples tested in this study, 72 were (78/27%) positive, 18 were (19/56%) negative, 2 were (2/17%) suspicious. According to the results of the present study, the seroprevalence of brucellosis among veterinary staff in Lorestan province is high.

Lorestan province is one of the endemic areas of malt fever and the seroprevalence in veterinary staff as one of the high risk groups based on this study is very high. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent disease in the human population by controlling and preventing disease in animals.