Brucellosis in Guangdong Province, People’s Republic of China, 2005–2010

tion against Lyme disease with recombi-nant Borrelia burgdorferi outer-surface lipoprotein A with adjuvant. Cultivation of Borrelia burg-dorferi from erythema migrans lesions and perilesional skin. Clinical characteristics and treatment outcome of early Lyme disease in patients with microbiologically confirmed erythema migrans. et al. Direct molecular detection and geno-typing of Borrelia burgdorferi from whole blood of patients with early Lyme disease. Four clones of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto cause invasive infection in humans. To the Editor: Brucellosis is one of the most prevalent zoonotic diseases in the world. It is principally an animal disease, but globally, >500,000 human cases are reported each year (1). Transmission to humans occurs primarily through contact with infected animals and consumption of contaminated food (2,3). Persons with occupational exposure are at highest risk for brucellosis, in particular those performing husbandry activities, butchering, and livestock trading (4,5). Although brucellosis has been eradicated from many industrialized countries, new foci of disease continually appear, particularly in parts of Asia (6–8). In China, 160,214 brucellosis cases were reported during 2005–2010; 90% of them occurred in 6 northern agricultural provinces: the main infectious source. However, factors such as the rapid movement of people from northern to southern China, increased livestock trading, and lack of livestock quarantine mean that infected livestock or their products readily traverse provincial borders and transmit disease to persons who have no direct contact with livestock. With an illness rate of <0.01 cases/100,000 population, Guangdong Province in southern China is one of the areas in China with the lowest incidence of brucellosis (9), but incidence is increasing. During 1955– 2004, Guangdong Province recorded 51 confirmed cases of brucellosis; however, during 2005–2010, 112 cases were reported. All reported cases had typical clinical characteristics, including undulant fever, night sweats, chills, and weakness; some cases were associated with encephalitis, meningitis, and arthritis. Of the 112 reported cases during 2005–2010, 105 were laboratory confirmed: 61 by culture (55 from blood culture, 3 from bone marrow, and 1 each from joint fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, and a vertebrae disc abscess); and 44 by serum agglutination test (SAT; single titer >400). The male:female ratio among these patients was 66:46. The age ranges were similar by sex; male patients were 18–71 (median 47) years of age, and female patients were 20–70 (median 43) years of age. The first 3 cases of brucellosis in 2005 were reported in Shenzhen in Guangdong Province. One case was culture confirmed by …