[Anti-Brucella antibody seroprevalence in blood donors for therapeutic ends at three blood banks of the Mexican Institute of Social Security].

Introduction: To determine seroprevalence for Brucella sp. in blood donors, a serologic study was carried out at three blood banks of the Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS).

Methods: 500 blood samples were taken from selected blood donors. Laboratory tests were used, such as Bengal rose (BR), Standard agglutination in microplate (SAM) and in presence of 2-Mercaptoethanol agglutination in microplate (2ME), which were applied to 500 blood sera from selected effective blood donors. The sample was representative according to the statistical analysis developed.

Results: 18 of 500 analyzed sera were positive, with seroprevalence of 3.6%, male sex (83.4%), predominating, as secondary activity group (72.2%). According to academic archivement, blood donors with secondary school had highest seropositivity (55.6%).

Conclusion: In this study, we conclude that brucellosis has peculiar epidemiologic characteristics in blood banks that participated in this research; therefore it is highly recommended to perform screening tests such as BR, SAM, and 2ME to identified anti-Brucella antibodies in the sera of effective blood donors.