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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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[edit | edit source]
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.[3][5]
Risk for exposure[edit | edit source]
The people most at risk for acquiring a Brucella infection are people who[6]:
- consume undercooked meat or unpasteurized (raw) 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[edit | edit source]
Treatment is a combination of broad spectrum antibiotics.[7]
Lean more[edit | edit source]
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "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.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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.
- ↑ 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/
- ↑ "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
