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The incidence of Brucella canis (B. canis) in humans is unknown in Northern Cyprus. In this study, we investigated the prevalence of B. canis and Brucella abortus (B. abortus) infection in human sera and evaluated the results obtained by agglutination-based techniques using standardized antigens made from B. canis comparatively. All of the subjects were negative in terms of Rose-Bengal plate test. Undiluted serum samples were initially screened by rapid slide agglutination test (RSAT), and those which were found positive were retested in the dilution of 1/25-1/200. Confirmation of the positive results was performed by using 2-mercaptoethanol standard agglutination test (SAT). The test antigen was prepared from the less mucoid M (-) variant of B. canis, and 1/1,048 titered dog antiserum was used as positive control. In 225 serum samples, 3.6% (8/225) was positive by B. canis M (-) RSAT, 4.4 % (10/225) was positive by B. canis M (-) indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (iELISA). 5.3% (12/225) was positive by B. abortus S99 RSAT and 9.8% (22/225) was positive by B. abortus S99 iELISA. Nine samples were positive by both B. abortus S99 RSAT and B. abortus S99 iELISA. Seven samples were positive by both B. canis M (-) RSAT and B. canis M (-) iELISA. One patient was positive by all methods. It is important to evaluate patient samples with RSAT and iELISA. Until the notification system gives better results to the Ministry of Health, in order to reach the real data for Northern Cyprus, multicenter prevalence determination studies should be done for future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim of the work To detect the frequency of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection among patients admitted to a rheumatology ward in northern Cyprus. Patients and methods 154 patients admitted to the rheumatology department of Near East University Hospital. The demographic data, examination findings and the medical cause of admission together with clinical manifestations of their disease was recorded. All patients were screened for HCV antibodies and cryoglobulins. Results The mean age of the patients was 46.6±15.8 years. The diagnosis amongst the 154 patients included rheumatoid arthritis in 24 (15.6%), arthralgia in 15 (9.7%), ankylosing spondylitis in 12 (7.8%), fibromyalgia syndrome in 11 (7.1%), osteoarthritis in 10 (6.5%), palindromic rheumatism in 10 (6.5%), systemic lupus erythematosus in 7 (4.5%), sjogren’s syndrome in 7 (4.5%),psoriatic arthritis in 17 (11.0%), vasculitis in 5 (3.2%), raynaud phenomenon in 5 (3.2%), scleroderma in 4 (2.6%), enteropathic arthritis in 4 (2.6%), familial mediterranean fever in 4 (2.6%), gout diseases in 3 (1.9%), reactive arthritis in 7 (4.5%), behcet’s disease in 1 (0.6%) and retroperitoneal fibrosis in 1 (0.6%) patients. HCV antibodies were negative in all the patients and only 1 male tested positive for cryoglobulins. Almost a quarter of the patients were receiving non-steroidal ant-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and 7.1% received colchicine. Conclusions Although rheumatic diseases are noted at a high rate in north Cyprus, there is no associated HCV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]