Brucellosis is a common zoonotic infection in India, caused by a facultative intracellular bacterium, Gram-negative coccobacillus, and frequently presents with nonspecific symptoms. This study aimed to assess serum cytokine levels (IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ, and IL-2) by ELISA and to correlate them with inflammatory markers (ESR and CRP) in patients with suspected brucellosis presenting with rheumatoid arthritis-like manifestations and polyarthralgia. This study included 111 patients, comprising 72 brucellosis-positive arthritis patients and 39 brucellosis-negative arthritis patients as controls. In this study, we investigated the variation in levels of four cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-10 and IFN-γ) among brucellosis-positive and brucellosis-negative arthritis patients and their relationship with clinical parameters. The mean serum levels of IL-2 and IL-10 were numerically higher in brucellosis-positive arthritis patients compared to controls; however, these differences were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Similarly, no statistically significant differences were observed for IL-6 and IFN-γ between the groups. Inflammatory markers such as ESR and CRP were elevated in brucellosis-positive patients, although these differences did not reach statistical significance. These findings indicate variability in cytokine and inflammatory marker levels between groups. The observed associations with raw dairy consumption, contact with unvaccinated livestock, and direct animal exposure highlight the need for early diagnosis, effective livestock immunisation programs, and strengthened One Health-based public health interventions to reduce disease burden.
Noor et al. (Wed,) studied this question.