Abstract
Background:Brucellosis is known in Iran as an endemic disease; however, its incidence is not the same in all provinces and is higher in some areas.Objective:The present study was designed to determine the epidemiological status and trend of brucellosis in the period from 2015 to 2020 in the south of Fars province, Southern Iran.Methods:This is a cross-sectional analytical study. This study included all patients with brucellosis in the period from 2015 to 2020 whose information had been registered in the Infectious Diseases Center of Larestan city. To collect the data, we used a checklist that included information such as age, gender, number of cases by year and month, occupation, and nationality of the patients with brucellosis. The rate of brucellosis incidence during these years was analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. P-value less than 0.05 was considered significant.Results:The average annual incidence of the disease was 8.94 per 100 000 population. It has decreased from 26.83 (per 100 000 people) in 2015 to 1.83 (per 100 000 people) in 2020. The results of Cochrane-Armitage process test showed that the reduction in the incidence of the disease from 2015 to 2020 was significant (PTrend = 0.001). The trend of the disease by month also showed that the majority of cases occurred between December and February, with the highest incidence of the disease in February (9.93 per 100 000 people) and the lowest in May (1.1 per 100 000 people) (P = 0.001).Conclusion:Although the results of the present study indicated a decrease in the incidence of the disease in the southern region of Fars province, due to the fact that the disease is common between humans and livestock, there is the possibility of scattered and irregular epidemics in each period.
Highlights
Conclusion: the results of the present study indicated a decrease in the incidence of the disease in the southern region of Fars province, due to the fact that the disease is common between humans and livestock, there is the possibility of scattered and irregular epidemics in each period
The epidemiology of brucellosis is complex, and Latin American countries such as Mexico and Peru have reported a large number of cases; the same pattern applies to Mediterranean countries such as Iran, the former Soviet Union, Mongolia, and Syria which have the highest annual incidence of human brucellosis [18]
Another study conducted in Iran during 2011 and 2014 showed that the average annual incidence of brucellosis was about 38.67 cases per 100 000 population [24], which was higher than the incidence rate in the present study; another study by Bagheri et al in 2010 to 2019 in Qazvin province showed that the incidence rate was 27.43 per 100 000 population [27]
Summary
Recent reports indicate that brucellosis is endemic or potentially present in 179 countries worldwide and that the disease remains a major health problem in the Mediterranean, the Middle East, West Asia, and parts of Africa, and Latin America [17]. The epidemiology of human brucellosis has changed dramatically in recent decades due to political and socio-economic factors, improved regulatory systems, animal control, tourism programs, and international migration [20]. This disease causes physical and health problems, and imposes economic burden on the society and the government. Brucellosis is known in Iran as an endemic disease; its incidence is not the same in all provinces and is higher in some areas
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