Prevalence of antibody to Brucella in asymptomatic well individuals in Saudi Arabia.

Two populations of asymptomatic well individuals resident in central Saudi Arabia were tested for antibody to brucella antigen. A relatively high prevalence of antibody (as measured by the standard agglutination test) was found in both populations. A much lower prevalence of antibody was demonstrated by the 2-mercaptoethanol test in these populations. There follows a discussion of the utility of brucella serological tests in developing countries in which the disease is endemic.