Epidemiological Characteristics of Brucellosis in Serbia, 1980-2008

Brucellosis is still a significant infectious disease. It primarily affects domestic animals, but humans are often infected due to direct contact with animals or ingestion of contaminated dairy products. The disease is spread all over the world with about 500 000 new human cases occurring annually (1). Human brucellosis is more prevalent in western parts of Asia, India, the Middle East, southern Europe, and Latin American countries (1). It mostly occurs in rural and nomadic communities where people live close to animals. Worldwide, reported incidence of human brucellosis in endemic disease areas varies widely, from 200 cases per 100 000. In Europe, brucellosis affects mainly the Mediterranean countries, but the epidemiology of this infection has changed over the past decade due to various sanitary, socioeconomic, and political factors, and international travel (1). The low incidence rate reported in known brucellosis-endemic areas may reflect absent or deficient surveillance and reporting systems (2). Many countries in the world, especially those with significantly developed small ruminant and cattle breeding sectors, are concerned about the spread of the disease. Large losses in livestock, long-term treatment of infected people, and the costs of brucellosis control and eradication are some of the reasons why the disease is a drain on the economy. In the former Yugoslavia, brucellosis was first recorded in Istria and near the Slovenian coast in 1947 but a few years later it was eliminated (3). In 1978, it appeared in Macedonia (4), where an epidemic broke out in 1980. Since no adequate action for elimination and eradication was taken, a rapid increase in the number of human cases emerged in the former Yugoslavia. Since then, brucellosis has become a significant concern in the country. By the end of the 1990s, brucellosis was reported throughout Macedonia, Kosovo and Metohija, and the southern part of central Serbia. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and distribution of human brucellosis cases in Serbia from 1980 to 2008 and the most important factors affecting its emergence and spread.