Brucellosis Serostatus Among Pregnant Women with Spontaneous Abortion and Stillbirth

Abstract

Background: Brucellosis in pregnancy is associated with severe outcomes ranging from abortion to neonatal development problems. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluate the seroprevalence of brucellosis antibodies among pregnant women presented with spontaneous abortion and stillbirth. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 80 cases (stillbirth or spontaneous abortion) and 80 healthy pregnant women were serologically examined for brucellosis antibodies using Coombs, Wright and 2-mercaptoethanol (2ME) brucella agglutination tests. The questionnaire consisting of the following data was prepared for all the participants: gestational age, age, history of abortion, parity, source of dairy consumption, contact with livestock, urban or rural living setup, serological outcomes and education levels. Results: The two groups were not significantly different in terms of the brucellosis test. Patients in the case group with and without infection were not significant in terms of contact with livestock, place of residence, dairy consumption, and history of abortion. However, education level was significantly different in the two, seropositive and seronegative, groups. Conclusion: Our study did not find a significant number of seropositive brucellosis cases associated with stillbirth and spontaneous abortion. Further studies with greater samples are therefore recommended.