Background & Aim: Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterial genus Brucella. That is transmitted from animals to humans. The disease is considered as a major problem in many regions of the world, including Iran, which is a source of income and employment. The aim of this study was to investigate the epidemiological data of reported cases of brucellosis in children and adolescents in Kohgiluyeh and Boyerahmad province.

Methods: In this cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study, all children and adolescents aged 1 to 18 years old who had been diagnosed with brucellosis during the years 2009-2015 and had their information in Kohgilouyeh and Boyerahmad Province Health Center entered the study. Data were analyzed using Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U.S. tests.

Results: The total number of people with brucellosis was 81, of which 40 (49.4%) were male and the rest (50.6%) were female. 67 (82.7%) of the patients were resident in the village and nomads and 14 others (17.3%) were lived in the city. The mean age of the patients at the time of diagnosis was 11.30 ± 4.73 years and the most prevalent age group was 11-18 years with 61.7%. The disease was more prevalent among the students (48.1%) and in the first six months of the year (79%). The most common way of transmission of disease was consumption of suspected dairy products and simultaneous contact with the livestock (85.2%) and (81.5%) respectively. About 82.8% of the patients had diagnosis between 0 and 3 months (acute brucellosis) and 17.2% were amonge 3 months to 1 year (subacute brucellosis). The most common clinical signs of observation were muscle pain, bone pain with 74.1%, fever with 58%, low back pain with 55.6%, weakness and anorexia with 42%, weight loss of 32.1%, weakness and anemia 2.5% and depression was 1.2%. There was a significant difference between the incidence and history of vaccination of livestock (p <0.001). In wright test, 28.4% of the patients had titers, and in the case of coombs wright and 2ME test, no cases were considered 4.9% and 12.3%, respectively.

Conclusion: Regarding the prevalence of the disease in children and students of rural and nomadic areas, early detection and control of the disease in this group, which is one of the active groups of the community, is necessary. In addition to vaccination of livestock, educating this community about the lack of contact with infected animals and the non-use of non-pasteurized dairy can help.