Brucellosis remains a significant public health concern in livestock-raising regions of China, including Gansu Province. Understanding its epidemiological characteristics and clinical presentation is crucial for improving disease management and control strategies. This study aimed to analyze the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients with brucellosis in Gansu Province to provide evidence for early diagnosis and treatment. A retrospective study was conducted using data from all patients tested for Brucella spp. serology at Lanzhou University Second Hospital between 2019 and 2022. Epidemiological features, initial clinical departments, symptoms, and antibiotic use among hospitalized confirmed cases (n = 2507) were statistically analyzed. Among 11,255 individuals tested, 2,507 were positive for brucellosis, yielding an overall positivity rate of 22.28%. The positivity rate declined from 27.29% in 2019 to 15.81% in 2021, followed by a slight increase to 20.76% in 2022. Most confirmed cases were male (57.60%), farmers (26.51%), and individuals aged 31–60 years. The primary care department (55.25%) was the most common point of first contact. Among 440 hospitalized patients, the most frequent clinical manifestations were lower back pain (40.68%), fatigue (21.14%), and arthralgia (12.27%). Ceftriaxone was the most commonly used monotherapy antibiotic (17.05%), while the combination of ceftriaxone and doxycycline was the predominant dual-therapy regimen (8.18%). This study delineates the profile of high-risk populations and current management practices for brucellosis in Gansu. The findings underscore the necessity for enhanced health education among key groups like farmers and herdsmen, and improved screening and diagnostic awareness in healthcare institutions, particularly in primary care settings, to facilitate early detection and treatment.
Pei et al. (Tue,) studied this question.