Brucella
Brucella is a bacteria that spreads from animals to humans most commonly through ingesting a contaminated food product or direct contact with an infected animal. Human to human contact is very rare.[1] The incidence of confirmed infection in humans in the US hovers just over 100 cases total.[2] The incidence in other parts of the world is higher.[3]
Characteristics
Brucella is:
- Gram-negative - does not retain a crystal violet stain used in the differentiation process
- coccobacilli - has a shape intermediate between cocci (spherical bacteria) and bacilli (rod-shaped bacteria)
- non-spore-forming
- non-motile
- aerobic - grows in the presence of oxygen
- zoonotic - spreads to humans from animals
Classification
There are six species of Brucella. Three can cause serious disease in humans: Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis and Brucella suis. One species, Brucella canis causes mild disease and the other two species have not affected humans.[4]
Brucellosis
The disease caused by a brucella infection is called brucellosis. It causes an acute febrile illness associated with rigors, sweats, malaise, anorexia, headache, pain in muscles, joint, and/or back, and fatigue. If untreated, it can potentially cause a debilitating chronic infection in humans with reoccurring fevers, arthritis, swelling of the testicle and scrotum area, swelling of the heart (endocarditis), neurologic symptoms (in up to 5% of all cases), chronic fatigue, depression, swelling of the liver and/or spleen.[5][6]
Risk for exposure
The people most at risk for acquiring a Brucella infection are people who[7]:
- consume undercooked meat or unpasteurized milk products from an infected animal
- slaughterhouse workers
- meat-packing plant employees
- veterinarians
- hunters dressing an infected animal
- laboratory workers who handle the bacteria
- an infant breastfeeding from an infected mother
Treatment
Treatment is a combination of broad spectrum antibiotics.[8]
Lean more
See also
References
- ↑ "CDC - Home - Brucellosis". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 8, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Brucellosis Surveillance | References and Resources | Brucellosis | CDC". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 9, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ↑ Rubach, M. P., Halliday, J. E. B., Cleaveland, S., & Crump, J.A. (2013). Brucellosis in low-income and middle-income countries. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases, 26(5), 404–412. http://doi.org/10.1097/QCO.0b013e3283638104
- ↑ Alton GG, Forsyth JRL. Brucella. In: Baron S, editor. Medical Microbiology. 4th edition. Galveston (TX): University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston; 1996. Chapter 28. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK8572/
- ↑ Rubach, M. P., Halliday, J. E. B., Cleaveland, S., & Crump, J.A. (2013). Brucellosis in low-income and middle-income countries. Current Opinion in Infectious Diseases, 26(5), 404–412. http://doi.org/10.1097/QCO.0b013e3283638104
- ↑ "Signs and Symptoms | Brucellosis | CDC". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. October 9, 2018. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ↑ "Transmission | Brucellosis | CDC". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. March 11, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2019.
- ↑ Michael J. Corbel. (1997). Brucellosis: an Overview. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp 213-221. DOI: 10.3201/eid0302.970219
- ↑ Michael J. Corbel. (1997). Brucellosis: an Overview. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Vol. 3, No. 2, pp 213-221. DOI: 10.3201/eid0302.970219
