Epidemiology of human brucellosis in a defined area of Northwestern Greece

Despite a European co-financial programme for control and eradication of brucellosis in Southern Europe, there is evidence that foci of brucellosis still exists in Greece and other Southern European countries. Human brucellosis cases are probably underreported in these countries. A local surveillance system was implemented in a defined region of Northwestern Greece, in order to record and study all human brucellosis cases, using several sources of retrieval. A total of 152 newly diagnosed cases were recorded during a 2-year study period (from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2004). The age- and sex-adjusted mean annual incidence rate for the population of the study area was 17.3 cases/10(5) inhabitants. Incomplete application of the control and eradication programme in livestock, and the possible illegal trafficking of animals and their products across the Greek-Albanian border could be responsible for the persistence of foci of brucellosis in the area.