Changing Epidemiology of Human Brucellosis, China, 1955–2014
Emerging Infectious Diseases·
- DOI
- 10.3201/eid2302.151710
- PMID
- 28098531
- PMCID
- PMC5324817
- OpenAlex
- W2568557626
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The authors indicate that the shifting epidemiology and geographic expansion of human brucellosis in China call for adjusted control strategies using a One Health approach.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study examined long-term temporal and geographic patterns of human brucellosis in China from 1955 through 2014 using statutory notification data.
Study design
It is a retrospective descriptive analysis of national notifiable disease surveillance data, combining aggregated records for 1955–2003 with individual case records for 2004–2014.
Population and setting
The setting is China as a whole, with geographic disaggregation showing predominance in northern provinces and subsequent spread into grassland, agricultural, southern coastal, and southwestern areas.
Main findings
A total of 513,034 cases were recorded over the 60-year period, with 99.3% reported in northern China during 1955–2014 and 69.1% of cases from 1990–2014 occurring during February–July. Incidence was elevated during 1955–1978, declined sharply from 1979–1994, and has risen again since 1995, reaching a historical high in 2014, while the affected area expanded from northern pastureland provinces into adjacent grassland, agricultural, southern coastal, and southwestern regions.
Public-health relevance
The authors indicate that the shifting epidemiology and geographic expansion of human brucellosis in China call for adjusted control strategies using a One Health approach.
Important limitations
This summary is limited to the supplied single-article abstract and bibliographic metadata; no explicit limitations are reported in the abstract, and the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article contributes contextually relevant background on the long-term epidemiology of human brucellosis in China; based on the supplied abstract and metadata alone, it does not establish a live surveillance signal, and any connection to current GIDS indicators would require the full paper and current data sources.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 14 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.