{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,6]],"date-time":"2026-07-06T13:20:41Z","timestamp":1783344041534,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":37,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,6]],"date-time":"2026-07-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783296000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["TropicalMed"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Human brucellosis is a widespread zoonotic febrile illness in livestock-rearing endemic regions, including T\u00fcrkiye (pooled human seroprevalence approximately 4.5%). Age-stratified item-level knowledge profiles paired with information-source patterns are rarely reported in adult populations. We aimed to describe age-stratified brucellosis knowledge and information-source ecosystems in a hospital-attending adult sample from an endemic Turkish province. Methods: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey enrolled 397 adults in Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye. A 17-question instrument assessed demographics, prior awareness, a 26-item composite knowledge score among aware respondents, and information sources. Item-level recognition was compared across four age strata, with multivariable logistic regression identifying independent predictors. Results: Of 397 adults (mean age 36.1 years; 62.7% male), 233 (58.7%) reported prior awareness, increasing with age (51.8% in 18\u201329 vs. 74.5% in \u226560 years; p &lt; 0.001). Among aware respondents, composite knowledge declined with age (mean 8.52 vs. 5.94; p &lt; 0.001). Raw dairy transmission and treatment availability were uniformly recognized (&gt;80% across all strata). Recognition of clinical symptoms (fever 68.9% vs. 34.3%; p = 0.005) and veterinary signs (decreased milk yield 36.9% vs. 8.6%; p = 0.001) was substantially lower in older respondents. Internet citation declined with age (41.7% to 17.1%), while older respondents relied more on interpersonal networks. Conclusions: Brucellosis knowledge was not uniformly distributed across the adult age spectrum. Dominant transmission and treatment messages were near-universally recognized, while clinical-symptom and veterinary-sign recognition showed substantial age-related deficits, accompanied by generational divergence in information-source ecosystems. These findings suggest that age-tailored, channel-specific reinforcement of less-recognized clinical and veterinary knowledge, delivered through trusted healthcare-worker channels, may strengthen brucellosis education in endemic Turkish settings. Community-based replication is required before broader policy translation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/tropicalmed11070185","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,6]],"date-time":"2026-07-06T10:43:11Z","timestamp":1783334591000},"page":"185","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Age-Stratified Heterogeneity of Brucellosis Awareness and Knowledge Among Hospital-Attending Adults in an Endemic Turkish Province: A Single-Center Cross-Sectional KAP Study"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4425-5649","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Enes","family":"Dalmano\u011flu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u0130rem","family":"Sakarya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ali Osman","family":"Y\u0131ld\u0131z","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammed Taha","family":"\u00d6z\u00fcg\u00fczel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"\u00c7i\u011fdem","family":"I\u015f\u0131k","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ahmet Enes","family":"Kaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-2290-8038","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yasin","family":"Uslu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Vedat","family":"Elg\u00fcn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Muhammed Enes","family":"Geylani","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Medicine, Bal\u0131kesir University, 10145 Bal\u0131kesir, T\u00fcrkiye"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Franc, K.A., Krecek, R.C., H\u00e4sler, B.N., and Arenas-Gamboa, A.M. 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