Title:Brucellosis Serostatus Among Pregnant Women with Spontaneous Abortion
and Stillbirth
Volume: 18
Issue: 2
Author(s): Ezatollah Rafiei Alavi*, Niloofar Rafiei Alavi , Romina Rafiei Alavi and Ermia Farokhi
Affiliation:
- Department of Pathology, School of Medicine, Lorestan University of Medical Sciences, Khorramabad, Iran
Keywords:
Brucellosis, abortion, stillbirth, pregnant, neonatal, mediterranean fever.
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.
