Brucellosis epidemic and control measures in Hulunbeier, Inner Mongolia

Objective To explore the current status of brucellosis epidemic in Hulunbeier, Inner Mongolia. Methods Descriptive analysis was conducted on the brucellosis epidemic data from 1956 to 2008, the brucellosis surveillance data from 1996 to 2006 and the vaccination effect. Results Hulunbeier was the highly endemic area of brucellosis in Inner Mongolia, even in China, a total of 13 457 brucellosis cases occurred from 1956 to 2008 with the average annual incidence rate of 12.62/lakh. In recent 15 years, the epidemic were in increasing, the epidemic area and focus were in expansion. The overall infection rate was 10.99% among the population contacting with livestock (4.94%-18.84%), which was still high compared with other areas in Inner Mongolia and in China. Conclusion The brucellosis epidemic is in high incidence period in Hulunbeier, it is necessary to strengthen the management of infectious sources to prevent and control brucellosis.