The epidemiology of human brucellosis, the commonest zoonotic infection worldwide,
has drastically changed over the past decade because of various sanitary, socioeconomic,
and political reasons, together with the evolution of international travel. Several
areas traditionally considered to be endemic--eg, France, Israel, and most of Latin
America--have achieved control of the disease. On the other hand, new foci of human
brucellosis have emerged, particularly in central Asia, while the situation in certain
countries of the Near East (eg, Syria) is rapidly worsening. Furthermore, the disease
is still present, in varying trends, both in European countries and in the USA. Awareness
of this new global map of human brucellosis will allow for proper interventions from
international public-health organisations.