Zoonotic brucellosis: an underestimated or misdiagnosed disease in Egypt.

Abstract

Over six months, 329 suggestive consecutive brucellosis human cases were diagnosed in attending the out-patients clinics of Al-Azhar and Ain Shams Universities Hospitals and Giza Governorate Farmers. They were 100 females and 229 males with ages ranged between 15-65 years old. A total of 213 (64.75%) were working in dairy farm and/or consumed raw milk, 16 (14.85%) used home slaughtering of sheep, and 100 (30.4%) were working in Giza Government slaughter-house. Clinically and by ELISA-IgM 259 out of 329 the subjects were proven brucellosis patients (77.8%). Besides, other patients had toxoplasmosis, or schistosomiasis mansoni or fascioliasis. Double infection was encountered with toxoplasmosis and either schistosomiasis or fascioliasis. The causes of endemic liver parasitosis that may give false-clinical diagnosis were excluded. Signs and symptoms of brucellosis patients were fever (91.5%), chills (84.1%), Myalgia (69.5%), headache (58.2%), fatigue (77.2%), anorexia (54.1%), tachycardia (38.6%), hepato-and/or splenomegaly (46.2%), lymphadenopaqthy (19.6%) lower back abdominal pain (8.8%) and/or constitutive symptoms (13.1%).