Epidemiological and Etiological Characteristics of a Group “Household” Focus of Brucellosis in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic

Dairy and beef farming is a central agricultural sector in the North Caucasus Federal District. Sick animals are the source of brucellosis infection for humans. In the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, a region of the North Caucasus with a long-standing epidemiological risk for brucellosis, a cluster (6 individuals) epidemic outbreak of acute brucellosis was recorded in a household in 2024. An epidemiological investigation identified the epidemiological characteristics and presented an etiological explanation for the cluster “family” outbreak.

The aim of the study was to analyze the results of the epidemiological investigation of the group “household” outbreak of acute brucellosis in Kabardino-Balkarian Republic in 2024 and to characterize the features of genome organization of isolated Brucella strains.

Materials and methods. Epidemiological data from the Rospotrebnadzor Administration in the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic were used for the work. We also studied 467 whole-genome sequences, 504 MLVA genotypes of strains from the collection of the Stavropol Anti-Plague Institute of the Rospotrebnadzor.

Results and discussion. Based on the analysis of epidemiological investigation data and molecular-genetic analysis of the isolated strains, the epidemiological and etiological features of a group “family” outbreak of brucellosis were determined. A regional genetic profile of the Brucella population circulating in the North Caucasus has been determined, allowing for differentiation of isolated strains based on the principle of “new” and “rooted” ones. The data obtained from the epidemiological investigation of the family outbreak of brucellosis provide for scientific substantiation of the phylogeny and relationships of brucellosis foci, confirmation of the introduction/importation of the infection to other (previously brucellosis-free) areas, and conducting genomic monitoring of the causative agent of brucellosis.

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