A cross-sectional study of sero-prevalence and risk factors of brucellosis and haemorrhagic fever in slaughterhouse staff in Ahvaz City, Iran; 2020

Introduction: Malta fever and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever comprise a major public health problem in developing countries and is endemic in Iran. Aim of the research: To study sero-prevalence and risk factors of brucellosis and haemorrhagic fever in Slaughterhouse Staff in Ahvaz City, Iran; 2020. Material and methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 104 slaughterhouse staff in Ahvaz. First, a questionnaire containing demographic information and other required information was filled in at the workplace; after that, 10 ml of blood was taken from each person. To diagnose anti-Brucella IgG antibodies, ELISA and IBL kits were used, and CISF was used to diagnose ELISA and specific IgG detection. Finally, the data were entered into SPSS software version 23, and the significance level of the tests was considered to be less than 0.05. Results: In this study, 14 subjects were not available and all were male. The sero-prevalence of Brucellosis and CCHF was 17% (17 people) and 7% (7 people), respectively. There was no significant difference between age factors, marital status, duration of employment, training, use of protective equipment, and type of job with prevalence rate of brucellosis and CCHF. Conclusions: It seems that in order to reduce the incidence of these diseases in slaughterhouse staff, we need to review the training programs as well as the type and manner of use of personal protective equipment because there is a significant difference in the prevalence of this disease among trained people and people using personal protective equipment compared to untrained people and people not using personal protective equipment.