PREVALENCE OF ANTIBODY TO BRUCELLA SPECIES IN BUTCHERS, SLAUGHTERERS AND OTHERS

Brucellosis is being reported with increasing frequency in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Serum antibodies in high-risk and general populations help to define cut-off levels and can be used as a simple and rapid diagnostic tests in infected areas. We performed the rose Bengal test (RBT), serum agglutination test (SAT) and 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) titre determination on 415 healthy individuals including butchers, slaughterers and others. Positive results were found by RBT, SAT titre (1:80) and 2ME titre > or = 1:20 in slaughterers (10%, 20% and 6% respectively), butchers (6%, 4% and 1% respectively) and the general population (1%, 2% and or = 1:80 in the presence of 2ME titre > or = 1:20 can be diagnostic in this region.