Effects of boiling dairy products on human brucellosis

In this study, we determined the seroprevalence of Brucella in the blood of bovine and ovine animals and in the blood of the people who raise these animals to produce cheese in two rural counties that use two different methods of cheese production in Erzurum Province in Turkey.

Samples are taken from 100 bovine animals, 100 ovine animals, 100 young people between the ages of 10-20 years and 100 adults between the ages of 20-60 years. The samples were tested with the Rose Bengal Plate Test (RBPT), the Serum Agglutination Test (SAT), the Coombs' Test and a micro-ELISA.

We found the following rates of Brucella in the province that makes cheese with raw milk: bovine (3.00%), ovine (5.00%), people between 10-20 years of age (2.00%) and people between 20-60 years of age (10.00%). However, the corresponding rates in the region that makes cheese with boiling milk were 2%, 4%, 1% and 5%, respectively.

The results were analyzed descriptively and in comparison to the results from the other region. There was a significant difference found between the two regions among the Hinis and Oltu individuals aged 10-20 and 20-60 (z=0.6<1.96 with a 95% confidence interval).