Brucellosis in a farming community in Saudi Arabia

This communication describes a study of the prevalence of brucellosis in a farming community of Saudi Arabia. Standard agglutination tests of sera from 21 patients were tested for Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis. The results show that 8 (38%) were positive with titres of 160 or over 20 480 and with titre of complement fixation tests ranging from 8 to 64. Agglutination titres of 20 to 40 were present in only 3 cases. Those patients with positive agglutination titre of 160 or higher admitted histories of consumption of raw milk. All 8 patients presented typical symptoms of brucellosis and responded to appropriate antibiotic therapy. This study suggests that farm workers and those who drink raw milk are more likely to contract brucellosis than are the general population.