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Abstract
Serum samples from 102 veterinarians and 191 pig farmers from the southern part of the Netherlands were investigated for antibodies against Brucella abortus, Leptospira spp, Streptococcus suis serotype II, Hantavirus (HV), and lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV). All samples were collected in 1993 and stored until this study was performed. The prevalence of antibodies against B. abortus in veterinarians (4.5%) was significantly higher (P=0.01) than in pig farmers (0%). None of the veterinarians (0%) and only one pig farmer (0.5%) had antibodies against Leptospira spp.. Furthermore, significantly (P=0.015) more veterinarians (6%) than pig farmers (1%) had antibody titres against muramidase‐released protein (MRP), a protein of pathogenic S. suis serotype II strains. None of the veterinarians and a total of 3 (1.6%) pig farmers had antibody titres against HV. The prevalence of antibodies against LCMV tended to be higher in pig farmers (2.6%) than in veterinarians (0%) (P=0.10). It can be concluded that the prevalence of antibodies against the investigated zoonotic agents in veterinarians and pig farmers is low.
Notes
Animal Health Service, P.O. Box 4, 5280 AA Boxtel, the Netherlands; e‐mail: [email protected]
Department of Bacteriology, Institute for Animal Science and Health (ID‐DLO, P.O. Box 15, 8200 AB Lelystad, the Netherlands.
Laboratory for Exotic Viral Infections, Institute of Virology, Erasmus Medical Centre Rotterdam, P.O. Box 2040, 3000 CA Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Institute of Virology, Erasmus University Rotterdam, P.O. Box 1738, 3000 DR Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Laboratory for Medical Microbiology, Diakonessenhuis, Bosboomstraat 1, 3582 KE Utrecht, the Netherlands.
Department of Herd Health and Reproduction, University of Utrecht, P.O. Box 80151, 3508 TD Utrecht, the Netherlands.