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. 2012 Dec;87(6):1105-11.
doi: 10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0327. Epub 2012 Oct 22.

Brucellosis among hospitalized febrile patients in northern Tanzania

Andrew J Bouley  1 , Holly M Biggs, Robyn A Stoddard, Anne B Morrissey, John A Bartlett, Isaac A Afwamba, Venance P Maro, Grace D Kinabo, Wilbrod Saganda, Sarah Cleaveland, John A Crump
Affiliations

Brucellosis among hospitalized febrile patients in northern Tanzania

Andrew J Bouley et al. Am J Trop Med Hyg. 2012 Dec.

Abstract

Acute and convalescent serum samples were collected from febrile inpatients identified at two hospitals in Moshi, Tanzania. Confirmed brucellosis was defined as a positive blood culture or a ≥ 4-fold increase in microagglutination test titer, and probable brucellosis was defined as a single reciprocal titer ≥ 160. Among 870 participants enrolled in the study, 455 (52.3%) had paired sera available. Of these, 16 (3.5%) met criteria for confirmed brucellosis. Of 830 participants with ≥ 1 serum sample, 4 (0.5%) met criteria for probable brucellosis. Brucellosis was associated with increased median age (P = 0.024), leukopenia (odds ratio [OR] 7.8, P = 0.005), thrombocytopenia (OR 3.9, P = 0.018), and evidence of other zoonoses (OR 3.2, P = 0.026). Brucellosis was never diagnosed clinically, and although all participants with brucellosis received antibacterials or antimalarials in the hospital, no participant received standard brucellosis treatment. Brucellosis is an underdiagnosed and untreated cause of febrile disease among hospitalized adult and pediatric patients in northern Tanzania.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Presented in part at the 61st American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, November 11–15, 2012, abstract 1402.

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