| Summary: | Introduction: Brucellosis causes a necrotic and inflammatory infection in humans and animals, and is among the world's most common zoonotic diseases. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Brucella antibodies and compare serological methods in Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, where animal husbandry is common.
Materials and Methods: The study was conducted between December 2017 and February 2018 and included veterinarians (n=50), animal caregivers (n=109), butchers (n=65), and a control group of individuals who had no connection with animals (n=100). Serum samples from the participants were analyzed with serological techniques including Rose Bengal test (RBT), standard tube agglutination test (STA) and ELISA; IgG and IgM methods. The sensitivity and specificity of the methods used were estimated by considering ELISA (IgG and/or IgM) results as reference/golden standard.
Results: Of 27 patients (8.3%) patients who had positive results from at least one of the serological tests, 21 (6.5%) had positive RBT, 15 (4.6%) had positive STA and 10 (3.1%) had positive ELISA (IgG and/or IgM). Six (28%) patients with negative RBT results were found to be positive in ELISA. Seventeen samples (80.9%) were RBT-positive but ELISA- negative.
Conclusion: These data suggest that Brucella infection is at low rate in the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus. Laboratory diagnosis should be supported by tests such as seroconversion for low titers on STA, or tests such as ELISA. Only two cases were reported to the Ministry of Health Statistics Unit in 2013.
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