Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study

Objectives The main Brucella species causing human infections in the Republic of Korea is Brucella abortus, which uses cattle as its host. However, since 2014, Brucella melitensis, which uses sheep and goats as hosts, has also been identified. This study investigated whether a shift has occurred in...

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Main Authors: In-Sook Shin, Su-Gwon Roh, Byoung-Chul Gill, Young-Suk Kim, Kyung-Won Hwang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency 2024-12-01
Series:Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives
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Online Access:http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2024-0134.pdf
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author In-Sook Shin
Su-Gwon Roh
Byoung-Chul Gill
Young-Suk Kim
Kyung-Won Hwang
author_facet In-Sook Shin
Su-Gwon Roh
Byoung-Chul Gill
Young-Suk Kim
Kyung-Won Hwang
author_sort In-Sook Shin
collection DOAJ
description Objectives The main Brucella species causing human infections in the Republic of Korea is Brucella abortus, which uses cattle as its host. However, since 2014, Brucella melitensis, which uses sheep and goats as hosts, has also been identified. This study investigated whether a shift has occurred in the predominant species of Brucella pathogens. Methods Brucellosis is a class 3 infectious disease requiring mandatory reporting and registration in the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s infectious disease surveillance system (http://is.kdca.go.kr). Cases from 2014 to 2023 were studied, and whole-genome sequencing analysis was conducted using BruMLSA21. Results Out of 51 patients, males (45 patients, 88.2%) were predominantly affected. Twenty-five patients (49%) came from the livestock industry, and within the livestock sector group, the route of infection occurred exclusively through contact (25/25, 100%), whereas in other occupations, it was split between contact (9/26 patients, 34.6%) and ingestion (8/26 patients, 30.8%). Among the 31 patients who underwent Brucella culture tests, B. melitensis was found to be more prevalent than B. abortus (14 patients, 45.2% vs. 11 patients, 35.5%). In all cases where B. melitensis was isolated, the infections were of foreign origin, consistent with the results of BruMLSA21. Conclusion Regular monitoring of the causative agent of brucellosis is necessary due to its varying host preferences and antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, given the increasing prevalence of B. melitensis worldwide, changes in dietary habits (e.g., increased lamb consumption), and the increase in foreign workers and Chinese immigrants, a multi-ministerial One Health response will be required.
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spelling doaj-art-439bf9c2ebf74675b3b4f78d61f12bec2025-08-20T03:06:02ZengKorea Disease Control and Prevention AgencyOsong Public Health and Research Perspectives2233-60522024-12-0115648949610.24171/j.phrp.2024.0134803Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective studyIn-Sook Shin0Su-Gwon Roh1Byoung-Chul Gill2Young-Suk Kim3Kyung-Won Hwang4 Division of Control for Zoonotic and Vector Borne Disease, Bureau of Infectious Disease Policy, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea Division of Bacterial Disease, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea Division of Bacterial Disease, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea Division of Bacterial Disease, Bureau of Infectious Disease Diagnosis Control, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of Korea Division of Control for Zoonotic and Vector Borne Disease, Bureau of Infectious Disease Policy, Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, Cheongju, Republic of KoreaObjectives The main Brucella species causing human infections in the Republic of Korea is Brucella abortus, which uses cattle as its host. However, since 2014, Brucella melitensis, which uses sheep and goats as hosts, has also been identified. This study investigated whether a shift has occurred in the predominant species of Brucella pathogens. Methods Brucellosis is a class 3 infectious disease requiring mandatory reporting and registration in the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency’s infectious disease surveillance system (http://is.kdca.go.kr). Cases from 2014 to 2023 were studied, and whole-genome sequencing analysis was conducted using BruMLSA21. Results Out of 51 patients, males (45 patients, 88.2%) were predominantly affected. Twenty-five patients (49%) came from the livestock industry, and within the livestock sector group, the route of infection occurred exclusively through contact (25/25, 100%), whereas in other occupations, it was split between contact (9/26 patients, 34.6%) and ingestion (8/26 patients, 30.8%). Among the 31 patients who underwent Brucella culture tests, B. melitensis was found to be more prevalent than B. abortus (14 patients, 45.2% vs. 11 patients, 35.5%). In all cases where B. melitensis was isolated, the infections were of foreign origin, consistent with the results of BruMLSA21. Conclusion Regular monitoring of the causative agent of brucellosis is necessary due to its varying host preferences and antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, given the increasing prevalence of B. melitensis worldwide, changes in dietary habits (e.g., increased lamb consumption), and the increase in foreign workers and Chinese immigrants, a multi-ministerial One Health response will be required.http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2024-0134.pdf brucellosisone health
spellingShingle In-Sook Shin
Su-Gwon Roh
Byoung-Chul Gill
Young-Suk Kim
Kyung-Won Hwang
Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
Osong Public Health and Research Perspectives


brucellosis
one health
title Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
title_full Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
title_fullStr Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
title_full_unstemmed Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
title_short Assessment of brucellosis-causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the Republic of Korea: insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance (2014–2023), a retrospective study
title_sort assessment of brucellosis causing pathogens with an emphasis on the prevalence of in the republic of korea insights from a decade of pathogen surveillance 2014 2023 a retrospective study
topic

brucellosis
one health
url http://ophrp.org/upload/pdf/j-phrp-2024-0134.pdf
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