Unrecognized pediatric and adult family members of children with acute brucellosis

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Brucellosis is an infectious, contagious and zoonotic disease that occurs worldwide. The family members of an index case of brucellosis may be especially susceptible, due to sharing the same source of infection and similar risk factors for brucellosis. In this study, we propose to screen pediatric and adult family members of brucellosis index cases for detecting additional unrecognized infected family members. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 114 family members of 41 pediatric patients with brucellosis were evaluated. All family members completed a brief questionnaire and were tested by a standard tube agglutination test (STA). RESULTS: The majority of family members (n = 96, 84.2%) were children. Among the 114 family members, 42 (36.8%) were seropositive, and 15 (35.7%) were symptomatic. The majority of the symptomatic seropositive family members (n = 12, 80%) had STA titers (≥1:640) higher than asymptomatic seropositive family members (n = 9, 33%; p = 0.004). CONCLUSION: The routine screening of both pediatric and adult family members of index cases is a priority in endemic areas. Using this screening approach, unrecognized family members who are seropositive for brucellosis will be identified earlier and be able to receive prompt treatment.