Seroprevalence of Human Brucellosis in Livestock Rearing Community of Central Gujarat, India

Background: Brucellosis, a zoonotic disease, is responsible for multitude of health issues and economic burden in community and is widely studied in high-risk population. The prevalence of disease or exposure to the organism causing brucellosis in a specific community has not been studied widely. Objectives: This study was conducted to measure community-based seroprevalence of human brucellosis in livestock-rearing villages in three districts of central Gujarat. Materials and Methods: We collected a total of 2561 blood samples of individuals from households of 93 villages. Multistage random sampling techniques were used for sample collection during the study period of 2021–2023. Serum samples were tested for immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM by the Novatech enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay Brucella kit. Results: District-wise seropositivity ranged from 18.35% to 26.81%, and overall, 579 (22.60%) samples were found to be positive for IgG, IgM, or both antibodies to Brucella spp . Conclusion: The seroprevalence of human brucellosis is high in the community of livestock-rearing villages and requires to be studied in more detail.