Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Al Dahouk, Sascha
• Neubauer, Heinrich
• Hensel, Andreas
• Schöneberg, Irene
• Nöckler, Karsten
• Alpers, Katharina
• Merzenich, Hiltrud
• Stark, Klaus
• Jansen, Andreas

Titel

Changing epidemiology of human brucellosis, Germany, 1962-2005

Ist Teil von

• Emerging infectious diseases, 2007-12, Vol.13 (12), p.1895-1900

Ort / Verlag

United States: U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases

Erscheinungsjahr

2007

Quelle

MEDLINE

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Trends in the epidemiology of human brucellosis in Germany were investigated by analyzing national surveillance data (1962-2005) complemented by a questionnaire-based survey (1995-2000). After a steady decrease in brucellosis incidence from 1962 to the 1980s, a persistent number of cases has been reported in recent years, with the highest incidence in Turkish immigrants (0.3/100,000 Turks vs. 0.01/100,000 in the German population; incidence rate ratio 29). Among cases with reported exposure risks, 59% were related to the consumption of unpasteurized cheese from brucellosis-endemic countries. The mean diagnostic delay was 2.5 months. Case fatality rates increased from 0.4% (1978-1981) to a maximum of 6.5% (1998-2001). The epidemiology of brucellosis in Germany has evolved from an endemic occupational disease among the German population into a travel-associated foodborne zoonosis, primarily affecting Turkish immigrants. Prolonged diagnostic delays and high case fatality call for targeted public health measures.