Seroprevalance of brucellosis among suspected cases in Malaysia

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease which can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact with infected animal or their products. It is an important public health problem but little is known on brucellosis in the Malaysian population. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of Brucella antibodies using commercial Brucella IgG and IgM ELISA kits (Vircell, SL, Barcelona Spain). A total of 184 sera from suspected patients were received from 16 hospitals in Malaysia over the years 2004 to 2009. Only 10 serum samples (5.4%) were positive for Brucella antibodies in which 5 showed the presence of both IgM and IgG. Most of the positive patients were occupationally involved with animals. This study suggests the seroprevalance of brucellosis among individuals who have contact with infected animals in Malaysia is low.