Epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis in Tongzhou district of Beijing, 2018−2020

  Objective   To understand the epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis in Tongzhou district of Beijing from 2018 to 2020, identify the sources of human brucellosis infection and provide data support for the prevention and treatment of human brucellosis in Tongzhou.

  Methods   Statistical analysis was conducted on the epidemiological characteristics, sources of infection, protection measures, time interval from onset to diagnosis, etiological detection and clinical manifestations of reported brucellosis cases in Tongzhou from 2018 to 2020. The differences in incidence of human brucellosis among different years and between men and women were compared with χ² test, and P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

  Results   From 2018 to 2020, a total of 53 confirmed cases of human brucellosis were reported in Tongzhou, and the overall incidence declined by year. The annual incidence was high in spring and summer with the peak during March - September. The cases mainly occurred in rural areas and urban-rural continuum. The incidence rate was 1.82/100 000 in men and 0.39/100 000 in women, the difference was significant (χ²=21.67, P<0.001). The incidence was higher in age group 40-69 years (83.02%), and the cases were mainly farmers. The main source of infection was contacts with sheep, cattle and their products, and only 15.79% of the cases took effective protection measures in the process of feeding of animals. In the reported cases, 56.60% were diagnosed within one month.

  Conclusion   From 2018 to 2020, the overall incidence of human brucellosis in Tongzhou showed a decline trend. The obvious seasonal and area differences were observed. The cases were mainly men, farmers and aged 40−69 years. The targeted prevention and control measures should be taken according to the epidemiological characteristics of human brucellosis.