Yafteh

Background: Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases considered as a health and economic problem in many countries, such as Iran in the Middle East. Humans are infected with this disease as a result of direct contact with infected animals or contaminated animal products. The prevalence of this disease is greater among veterinary staff as one of the high risk groups. The main purpose of this study was to determine of Brucella seroprevalence in the veterinary staff of Lorestan province using the indirect ELISA method.
Materials and Methods: This descriptive cross- sectional study was conducted from January 2018 to June 2019.Total of 92 serum samples of veterinary staff with a history of contact with animals were tested for antibody against Brucella by commercial kit. 
Results: Total of serum samples tested in this study, 72 were (78/27%) positive, 18 were (19/56%) negative, 2 were (2/17%) suspicious. According to the results of the present study, the seroprevalence of brucellosis among veterinary staff in Lorestan province is high.
Conclusion: Lorestan province is one of the endemic areas of malt fever and the seroprevalence in veterinary staff as one of the high risk groups based on this study is very high. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent disease in the human population by controlling and preventing disease in animals.

Background: Coxiella burnetii is an obligate intracellular microorganism that causes Q fever in humans and animals. A high risk for obstetric complications has been reported among women infected with Coxiella burnetii. The present study aimed to assess the seroprevalence of C.burnetii infection among rural pregnant women in Khorramabad.
Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, a total of 184 serum samples were collected randomly from pregnant women who were referred to clinical laboratories and health centers in Khorramabad, Iran, from December 2016 to June 2017. A commercial IFA kit was used to detect the specific antibodies against phase II human C. burnetii in serum samples.
Results: In this study, 89 (48.4%) serum samples had Coxiella antibodies. No significant relationship was observed between the variables of this study. Serological results based on the sampling month demonstrated that the most positive cases were observed in December (83.3%) which was statistically significant (P<0.001).
Conclusion: The present study demonstrated a high seroprevalence of C. burnetii infection among pregnant women in Khorramabad. Since Q fever is a dangerous factor in pregnant women, the Ministry of Health and Medical Education should take appropriate policy to raise the awareness of people at risk, especially those who have frequent contact with livestock.