Exposure to Br abortus in veterinary undergraduates and graduates

Serial Brucella agglutination tests were carried out on veterinary students at Bristol University between 1962 and 1968. A steady rise in the number of those with a significant positive titre was demonstrated in undergraduates and this was related to an increased exposure to farm livestock as their course progressed. A much larger proportion of individuals showed a significant titre in the period following graduation. While only 8-9 per cent of students in the first year of their course showed a significant titre, 49-5 per cent gave a serological response at 1/80 dilution or greater, within five years ofgraduation and of those in predominantly large animal practice almost 60 per cent showed this response. Only 7 per cent of those with a significant rise in titre reported symptoms suggestive of clinical disease.