TY - JOUR T1 - Ruminant Brucellosis in the Kafr El Sheikh Governorate of the Nile Delta, Egypt: Prevalence of a Neglected Zoonosis A1 - Hegazy, Yamen M. A1 - Moawad, Amgad A1 - Osman, Salama A1 - Ridler, Anne A1 - Guitian, Javier Y1 - 2011/01/11 N2 - Author Summary Brucellosis is a zoonosis of mammals caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. It is responsible for a vast global burden imposed on human health through disability and on animal productivity. In humans brucellosis causes a range of flu-like symptoms and chronic debilitating illness. In livestock brucellosis causes economic losses as a result of abortion, infertility and decreased milk production. The main routes for human infection are consumption of contaminated dairy products and contact with infected ruminants. The control of brucellosis in humans depends on its control in ruminants, for which accurate estimates of the frequency of infection are very useful, especially in areas with no previous frequency estimates. We studied the seroprevalence of brucellosis and its geographic distribution among domestic ruminants in one governorate of the Nile Delta region, Egypt. In the study area, the seroprevalence of ruminant brucellosis is very high and has probably increased considerably since the early 1990s. The disease is widespread but more concentrated around major animal markets. These findings question the efficacy of the control strategy in place and highlight the high infection risk for the animal and human populations of the area and the urgent need for an improved control strategy. JF - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases JA - PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases VL - 5 IS - 1 UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0000944 SP - e944 EP - PB - Public Library of Science M3 - doi:10.1371/journal.pntd.0000944 ER -