The Demographic Risk Factors for Brucellosis in Asia

Brucellosis is also known as Undulant fever, Malta fever, rock fever, intermittent fever, Gibraltar fever, contagious abortion, Maltese fever, Crimean fever, or even Mediterranean fever. Clinical manifestations commonly encountered are fever and arthralgia. It has veterinary importance making it the leading cause of abortion and infertility in animals. Countries in which mixed agriculture is still the leading occupation have reported this disease in high number. The disease is common in areas where the mixed type of farming is still practiced, it is a type of farming where owners cohabit with their animals in the shed during the nighttime. The incidence of the disease is reported more in humans who have direct contact with the animal’s abortus fetus and reproductive secretions. A favorable environment is created for transmission when the healthy and infected animals are kept together free and are difficult to segregate. Diagnosis of the disease is done by isolation of the bacteria from the sample using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The disease was claimed to be eradicated but now as the global trend of infectious diseases is constantly changing it now appears to be a re-emergent disease. The best way to prevent the spread of the infection is through the One Health approach. Although brucellosis has been widely reported in animals and humans only a few studies have addressed the true prevalence of the disease in the context of Asia which is quite a challenge. It is unable to provide the true context of the disease. The case burden is more prevalent in the developing countries where it is found to be endemic in animals as well as in humans. Thus, this paper highlights the risk factors commonly found in Asian countries that are associated with increased prevalence of infection in humans which has now been believed to be involved many generations across the globe.

Countries in which mixed agriculture is still the leading occupation have reported this disease in high number. The disease is common in areas where the mixed type of farming is still practiced, it is a type of farming where owners cohabit with their animals in the shed during the nighttime. The incidence of the disease is reported more in humans who have direct contact with the animal’s abortus fetus and reproductive secretions. A favorable environment is created for transmission when the healthy and infected animals are kept together free and are difficult to segregate. Diagnosis of the disease is done by isolation of the bacteria from the sample using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique. The disease was claimed to be eradicated but now as the global trend of infectious diseases is constantly changing it appears to be a re-emergent disease. The best way to prevent the spread of the infection is through the One Health approach. Although brucellosis has been widely reported in animals and humans only a few studies have addressed the true prevalence of the disease in the context of Asia which is quite a challenge. It is unable to provide the true context of the disease. The case burden is more prevalent in the developing countries where it is found to be endemic in animals as well as in humans. Thus, this paper highlights the risk factors commonly found in Asian countries that are associated with increased prevalence of infection in humans which has now been believed to be involved many generations across the globe.