Analysis of Epizootiological-Epidemiological Situation on Brucellosis in the Russian Federation in 2018 and Forecast for 2019

Presented is the analysis of brucellosis incidence among humans and animals in the Russian Federation in 2018. Epizootiological situation in the regions of developed animal husbandry remains reasonably tense. In 2018, as in previous years, the foci of bovine cattle and small ruminant brucellosis were registered in the North Caucasian, Southern Federal Districts, Volga and Siberian Federal Districts, the share of which made up to more than 90% of all registered in Russia potentially hazardous as regards brucellosis areas and cases of the disease in animals. Against the background of long-term unfavorable epizootic condition, the incidence of brucellosis over the past three years was, on average, 14 % lower than the average long-term indicators. The greatest number of cases (94.1 % of the overall Russian incidence) is registered in the administrative subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District, Southern Federal District and Siberian Federal District, which have the maximum levels of brucellosis incidence in cattle (88.9 %) and small ruminants (95 %). In 2019, persistence of epidemiological problems in regard to brucellosis in the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District (primarily the Republic of Dagestan, Stavropol Territory), the Southern Federal District (the Republic of Kalmykia, Volgograd and Astrakhan Regions), and the Siberian Federal District (the Tuva Republic, the Omsk and Tyumen Regions) is predicted. The number of human cases of brucellosis may be within the range of 290–310 cases (intensive incidence rate per 100 thousand population – 0.21).

brucellosis, incidence, epizootic process, epidemic manifestations

1. Closer intersectoral collaboration using existing tools can defeat zoonoses affecting humans. Geneva: WHO, 16 July, 2015. [Internet]. (Cited 23 Nov 2017). Available from: https://www.who.int/neglected_diseases/intersectoral_collaboration_to_defeat_zoonoses/en/.

2. Shi Y., Gao H., Pappas G., Chen Q., Li M., Xu J., Lai S., Liao Q., Yang W., Yi Z., Rouzi Z., Yu H. Clinical features of 2041 human brucellosis cases in China. PLoS ONE. 2018; 13(11):e0205500. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0205500.

3. Olsen, S.C., Palmer, M.V. Advancement of knowledge of Brucella over the past 50 years. Vet. Pathol. 2014; 51(6):1076–89. DOI: 10.1177/0300985814540545.

4. Periodic reports of the Department of Epidemiology. Ministry of Health of the State of Israel (official website). [Internet]. (Cited 31 Jan 2019). Available from: https://www.health.gov.il/UnitsOffice/HD/PH/epidemiology/Pages/epidemiology_report.aspx.

5. Periodic reports of the Ministry of Health of the Turkey (official website). [Internet]. (Cited 31 Jan 2019 ). Available from: https://www.saglik.gov.tr/TR,11584/istatistikler-ve-yayinlar.html.

6. Periodic reports of the Ministry of Health of the Egypt. [Internet]. (Cited 31 Jan 2019). Available from: http://www.mohp.gov.eg/PublicationsCategories.aspx.

7. Almasri M., Ahmed Q.A., Turkestani A., Memish Z.A. Hajj abattoirs in Makkah: risk of zoonotic infections among occupational workers. Vet. Med. Sci. 2019. [Internet]. (Cited 26 Apr 2019). Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ vms3.169 DOI: 10.1002/vms3.169.

8. Charypkhan D., Sultanov A.A., Ivanov N.P., Baramova S.A., Taitubayev M.K., Torgerson P.R. Economic and health burden of brucellosis in Kazakhstan. Zoonoses Public Health. 2019. [Internet]. (Cited 16 May 2019). Available from: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/zph.12582 DOI: 10.1111/zph.12582.

9. Karunanayake L., Karunanayake P., Rathnayaka C.S., Senarath U., Ranbanda J.M., Kothalawala M. Seroprevalence and associated risk factors of human Brucella infection in selected provinces in Sri Lanka. Ceylon Med. J. 2019; 64(1):25–9. DOI: 10.4038/cmj.v64i1.8824.

10. Lounes N., Cherfa M-A., Le Carrou G., Bouyoucef A., Jay M., Garin-Bastuji B., Mick V. Human Brucellosis in Maghreb: Existence of a Lineage Related to Socio-Historical Connections with Europe. PLoS ONE. 9(12):e115319. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0115319.

11. Algérie Presse Service: Ghardaïa: 175 cas de brucellose humaine et 171 autres de leishmaniose cutanée durant les 8 mois de 2018. [Internet]. (Cited 31 Jan 2019). Available from: http://www.aps.dz/sante-science-technologie/78148-ghardaia-175-cas-de-brucellose-humaine-et-171-autres-de-leishmaniose-cutanee-durant-les8-mois-de-2018.

12. Algеrie Presse Service: Batna: 11 cas confirmés de brucellose humaine enregistrés. [Internet]. (Cited 31 Jan 2019). Available from: http://www.aps.dz/sante-science-technologie/74123-batna-11cas-confirmes-de-brucellose-humaine-enregistres.

13. Dadar M., Shahali Y., Whatmore A.M. Human brucellosis caused by raw dairy products: A review on the occurrence, major risk factors and prevention. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 2019; 292:39–47. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijfoodmicro.2018.12.009.

14. Mohamed A.A., Chehab M.A., Al-Dahshan A., AlRomaihi H.E., Farag E.A. An Evaluation of the National Brucellosis Surveillance System in Qatar, 2018. Cureus. 2019; 11(3):e4169. DOI:10.7759/cureus.4169

15. CDC and Texas Health Officials Warn About Illness Linked to Raw Milk from Texas Dairy. Disease Control and Prevention. [Internet]. (Cited 23 Nov 2017). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2017/p0915-raw-milk-brucella.html.

16. Exposure to RB51 through Raw Milk or Milk Products: How to Reduce Risk of Infection. Disease Control and Prevention. [Internet]. (Cited 23 Nov 2017). Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/brucellosis/clinicians/rb51-raw-milk.html.

17. D.G. Ponomarenko, D.V. Rusanova, Т.V. Berdnikova, A.A. Khachaturova, E.A. Manin, A.N. Kulichenko [Overview of Epizootiological and Epidemiological Situation on Brucellosis in the Russian Federation in 2017 and Prognosis for 2018]. Problemy Osobo Opasnykh Infektsii [Problems of Particularly Dangerous Infections]. 2018; 2:23–9.

18. Infectious morbidity in the Russian Federation over the period of January–December, 2018, Form No 1: “The data on infectious and parasitic diseases for January–December, 2018 of the Federal Statistical Observation of the Federal Service for Surveillance in the Sphere of Consumers Rights Protection and Human Welfare”. [Internet]. (Cited 19 Mar 2018). Available from: https://www.rospotrebnadzor.ru/activities/statistical-materials/statistic_detail.php?ID=11277&sphrase_id=1703598.

19. Epizootic situation in the Russian Federation. Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance (official website). [Internet]. (Cited 19 Mar 2018). Available from: http://www.fsvps.ru/fsvps-docs/ru/iac/rf/2016/report_3_quater.pdf.

20. Brucellosis in humans and animals, WHO/CDS/EPR/2006. 102 p. [Internet]. (Cited 17 Feb 2019). Available from: https://www.who.int/csr/resources/publications/Brucellosis.pdf.