brucellosis seropositivity among adults in al rass city, qassim province, saudi arabia

Introduction: brucellosis constitutes a major health and economic problem in many parts of the world, including countries middle east and the arabian gulf. epidemiological investigations conducted in the middle east, demonstrated a wide spread distribution of brucellosis in the region, with saudi arabia having the highest prevalence of brucellosis.thus the aim of the study was to evaluate the prevalence of brucellosis in al-rass city, qassim region of saudi arabia and to determine its associated factors. materials and methods: a cross-sectional survey was carried out in march 2013 with a random consecutive sample of 40 subjects visiting aljreef dispensary, in al-rass city, qassim region, k.s.a. the blood samples obtained from the study subjects were analyzed in two steps namely: (1) slide agglutination test; and (2) standard tube agglutination test. results: the prevalence of brucellosis in this study sample was 15% predominantly in the age group of 34 to 46 years. the two predisposing factors associated with brucellosis prevalence were consumption of raw milk and daily direct contact with animals. conclusion: it can be concluded that there is a high prevalence of brucellosis in al-rass city, qassim region. the prevalence of brucellosis is significantly associated with drinking raw milk and direct contact with animals. an improved healthcare system with outreach programs to educate farmers on brucellosis preventive measures is needed to minimize the prevalence.