Seroepidemiological investigation of Brucella canis antibodies in different human population groups.

A study was conducted to determine the prevalence of Brucella canis antibodies in specified groups based on their exposure to dogs. The method used was a microtiter technique, and the presence of antibodies at a 1:12 or greater dilution of serum was considered a positive test. Eleven (5.7%) of the newborn infants had evidence of maternal antibodies, and 67.8% of the persons with an average exposure to dogs had B. canis antibodies, with a 62.1% prevalence in males and a 72.4% prevalence in females (P less than or equal to 0.001). Veterinarians had a much higher rate of infection (72.6%) than male blood donors (56.9%) (P less than or equal to 0.01). Patients with fevers of undetermined origin had significantly higher antibody titers to B. canis than all other patients (P less than or equal to 0.001). This study presents evidence that the prevalence of B. canis antibodies in humans is high, and that the incidence of brucellosis may increase when physicians consider B. canis as a possible etiological agent in febrile illnesses.