EcoHealth 9, 132–138, 2012 DOI: 10.1007/s10393-011-0722-x Original Contribution 2011 The Author(s). This article is published with open access at Springerlink.com Representative Seroprevalences of Brucellosis in Humans and Livestock in Kyrgyzstan Bassirou Bonfoh,1 Joldoshbek Kasymbekov,2 Salome Du¨ rr,3 Nurjan Toktobaev,4 Marcus G. Doherr,3 Tobias Schueth,4 Jakob Zinsstag,5,6 and Esther Schelling5,6 1Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientiﬁques en Coˆte d’Ivoire, 01 BP 1303 Abidjan01, Coˆte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast 2Kyrgyz Research Institute of Veterinary (KRIV), 60 Togolok Moldo Street, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 3Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Schwarzenburgstr 155, 3097 Liebefeld, Switzerland 4Kyrgyz-Swiss-Swedish Health Project, Swiss Red Cross, 187/1 Sydykova Street, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan 5Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute, P.O. Box 4002, Basel, Switzerland 6University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland Abstract: Kyrgyzstan reported 77.5 new human brucellosis cases per 100,000 people in 2007, which is one of the highest incidences worldwide. In Kyrgyzstan, the currently used diagnostic tests in humans and animals are the Rose Bengal Test and the Huddleson test. A national representative cross-sectional study using cluster sampling proportional to size in humans, cattle, sheep, and goats was undertaken to assess the apparent seroprevalence in humans and animals. A total of 4,936 livestock sera and 1,774 human sera were tested in Naryn, Chuy, and Osh Oblasts. The overall apparent seroprevalences of brucellosis were 8.8% in humans (95% CI 4.5–16.5), 2.8% (95% CI 1.6–4.9%) in cattle, 3.3% (95% CI 1.5–6.9%) in sheep, and 2.5% (95% CI 1.4–4.5%) in goats. Naryn Oblast had the highest seroprevalences in humans and sheep. More men than women were seropositive (OR = 1.96; P < 0.001). Human seroprevalence was signiﬁcantly associated with small ruminant seropreva- lence but not with cattle seroprevalence. Annual incidence of human brucellosis exposure, measured by sero- logical tests, was more than ten times higher than the annual incidence of reported clinical brucellosis cases. This indicates an under-reporting of human brucellosis cases, even if only a fraction of seropositive people have clinical symptoms. In conclusion, this study conﬁrms the high seroprevalence of brucellosis in Kyrgyzstan and warrants rapid effective intervention, among others, by mass vaccination of sheep and goats but also of cattle. Keywords: apparent prevalence, incidence, brucellosis, human, livestock, serology, Kyrgyzstan INTRODUCTION Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of livestock with a high zoonotic potential. Its transmission from livestock to hu- mans occurs mainly by consumption of raw dairy products and by direct contact during delivery and abortion. Brucella Published online: December 6, 2011 Correspondence to: Jakob Zinsstag, e-mail: jakob.zinsstag@unibas.ch abortus is mainly found in cattle and B. melitensis and B. ovis in goats and sheep. Humans are susceptible to both B. abortus and B. melitensis, the latter being most frequently reported in humans (Corbel 2006). Brucellosis occurs worldwide, particularly in developing and transition countries, but it is well controlled in indus- trialised countries. Kyrgyzstan has one of the highest bru- cellosis incidences worldwide with 36 reported annual