[Prevalence of serum antibodies for the bacterium Brucella sp. in a tropical XXXX population].

@entity1 @entity3377 @entity281 @entity1062 @entity291
Prevalence of serum antibodies for the bacterium Brucella sp. in a tropical @entity1 population. Brucellosis is a systemic bacterial disease that can last years if not treated properly. The laboratory diagnosis is made by serological tests or isolation of the agent. We studied the prevalence of antibodies against Brucella sp. in inhabitants of rural communities of Cartago, Costa Rica, who are dedicated mainly to dairy @entity291 activities. We analyzed 714 representative samples with the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) and the @entity1062 (SAT). The overall prevalence was 0.87%. No seroconversion was demonstrated for seropositive individuals. Even though 71% of the population mentioned consuming non-pasteurized milk, no statistically significant association was found (1.09 %, IC 0.30-2.77) between milk consumption and the presence of antibodies suggestive of @entity281 by Brucella sp. As a @entity3377 high-risk population, the absence of symptoms in the population agrees with the observed titers of antibodies, suggesting a low previous exposure to the agent.
