What is already known about this topic?

Brucellosis is one of the world’s most overlooked zoonotic diseases, and humans can easily acquire brucellosis from animals and their products. Reemerging brucellosis outbreaks are probably attributable to sociocultural factors and compounded by the lack of adequate control measures in sheep and goat rearing systems.

What is added by this report?

This is the first identified outbreak caused by Brucella melitensis bv.3 in Jingyang County, Xianyang City, Shaanxi Province. A total of 13 seropositve cases (7 acute patients and 6 asymptomatic persons) were identified from March to May, 2020, and the investigation indicated that sheep-to-canine-to-human was the likely transmission route.

What are the implications for public health practice?

Effective control of sheep brucellosis will significantly reduce the risk of human brucellosis. Priority should be given to building cooperation between all stakeholders, maintaining epidemiological surveillance to detect human brucellosis at medical centers, and making case reporting mandatory for both veterinary and public health services.

Human brucellosis, a neglected zoonotic disease, causes more than 500,000 new cases each year globally. The disease is of major public health concern in China, and northern provinces are traditionally endemic areas.

This is the first published outbreak of occupational brucellosis involving multiple clusters in Hubei Province. This investigation characterizes the transmission chain of the outbreak and reveals that provinces south of the Yangtze River are faced with a series of challenges and hurdles to overcome including, but not limited to, health education, law enforcement, and occupational protection.

In addition to measures aimed at this outbreak, the local agricultural department has issued special notices based on this investigation to adjust and strengthen local eradication program of brucellosis.