Abstract

Background: Brucellosis is the most common global bacterial zoonotic disease. Although more than half a million cases are reported annually, many experts believe that the number of reported cases is only a small fraction of the real number due to misdiagnosis and underreporting. This study aimed to understand the level of knowledge and practice related to brucellosis; its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment among primary health care physicians in Saudi Arabia.
Methodology: A cross-sectional survey about brucellosis was administrated including physicians working in primary health care centers (N = 300). We assessed knowledge and practice regarding preventive and clinical part of brucellosis by analyzing the participants’ answers.
Results: The level of knowledge about brucellosis was good among participating physicians, except for general practitioner group as their knowledge was slightly less than participating physicians. Also, the participant’s level of knowledge was significantly associated with their years of experience. Regarding physicians’ practice on brucellosis, the mean score was moderate and was not significantly associated with their sociodemographic characters.
Conclusions: The majority of primary health care physicians are well-informed about brucellosis; its prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, successful prevention of brucellosis requires more training for physicians as general practitioners and younger physicians still need to be updated about brucellosis starting from the disease known to its treatment measures.

Key words: Primary health care physicians, knowledge, practice brucellosis, prevention, diagnosis, treatment