Human brucellosis in northern borders, Saudi Arabia: Epidemiologic features and common presentation

Aim: Brucellosis is one of the major bacterial zoonoses that threatens the public health system in many countries in North Africa and the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.This study aimed to identify the pattern of Brucellosis infection from 2020 to 2023 and to determine the demographic structure and clinical features of Brucellosis infection in the Northern Border region of Saudi Arabia.Material and Methods: A retrospective review of hospital records for Brucellosis from 2020 to 2023 was obtained from the North Medical Tower and the Prince Abdul-Aziz bin Musaed Hospital in the Northern Border Region, Saudi Arabia.Patients' demographic characteristics, including age, gender, nationality, presentation symptoms, and results of the Slide Agglutination Test for Brucellosis were obtained.Results: A total of 647 samples were examined between 2020 and 2023.The number of Brucellosis cases was 98, which progressively decreased from 51 cases in 2020 to only one case in 2023.Male patients predominated (82.65%) with high frequency in the age groups of 30 to 40 years (34.69%) and 20 to 30 years (28.57%).The most common symptoms observed in the current study were swinging fever (53.1%), back pain (37.7%), rigor (33.7%), and joint pain (19.4%), while 28.6% were asymptomatic cases.Discussion: The incidence of Brucellosis infection was progressively decreased with a predominance of male patients aged 20 to 40 years.This confirms the national public health interventions and highlights the importance of awareness campaigns and surveillance systems among high-risk individuals and livestock to prevent transmission and facilitate case detection, particularly in asymptomatic patients.