Brucellosis control in Saudi Arabia: prospects and challenges

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of worldwide distribution. Despite its control in many developed countries the disease remains endemic in Saudi Arabia where the national seroprevalence of the disease is 15%. In Saudi Arabia the disease is introduced through uncontrolled importation of animals that are poorly screened for the disease. Every year the Kingdom imports a few million heads of sheep and goats for sacrifice during Hajj from Africa, India, and Autstralia. Brucella melitensis remains the principle cause of human brucellosis in Saudi Arabia, causing 88-93% of the cases. Recent national statistics indicate that the disease incidence in humans is close to 40 cases per 100,000. The eradication of human brucellosis in Saudi Arabia will ultimately depend on the eradication of animal brucellosis. There is an urgent need for a national program for controlling brucellosis in the Kingdom. The components of this program will include recruitment and training of qualified veterinarians, development of an adequate number of animal quarantine centers and implementing legislation to control marketing and movement of animals.