Signs and symptoms of brucellosis can include fever, joint pain, and fatigue. The infection can usually be treated with antibiotics. However, treatment can last several weeks to months, and the infection can come back.
Brucellosis affects hundreds of thousands of people and animals around the world. Avoiding raw dairy products and taking precautions when working with animals or in the laboratory can help prevent brucellosis.
How common is brucellosis?
Brucellosis appears throughout the world. However, areas with poor public health and pet health programs are at higher risk. For example, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are at increased risk for brucellosis. In the United States, brucellosis is very rare in (vaccinated) cattle, but can be found in buffalo and elk populations in the West.
How is brucellosis spread?
You can get brucellosis from:
Eating undercooked meat
Intake of raw dairy products
Inhalation of bacteria that cause brucellosis.
Touching infected animals
These are mostly animals associated with agriculture such as sheep, cows, goats and pigs. However, dogs can also be carriers, as can wild animals such as moose.
Although brucellosis is not transmitted from person to person, it can be transmitted through breast milk, blood transfusions, or tissue transplants. However, this is not routine.
Symptoms
The symptoms of brucellosis can appear at any time, from a few days to a few months after infection. The signs and symptoms are similar to those of the flu and include:
Fever
Cold
Lack of appetite
Sweat
Weakness
Fatigue
Joint, muscle and back pain
Headache
The symptoms of brucellosis can go away and return in weeks or months. Some people have chronic brucellosis and experience symptoms for years even after treatment. Chronic signs and symptoms Fatigue, recurrent fevers, arthritis, inflammation of the heart (endocarditis), and spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis that affects the spine and nearby joints.
What Causes Brucellosis?
Brucellosis in humans occurs when a person comes into contact with an animal or animal product that is infected with the brucellosis bacteria.
Very rarely, the bacteria are spread from person to person. Breastfeeding with brucellosis causes bacteria in the baby. Brucella is also transmitted through sexual contact.
Bacteria Enter Your Body:
By cut or scratch on the skin
When you breathe polluted air (rare)
When you eat or drink contaminated with bacteria, such as unpasteurized milk or boiled meat
Four types of brucellosis bacteria cause a large percentage of brucellosis infections in humans:
- melitensis. This type causes most cases of human brucellosis and is found mainly in sheep and goats. It appears very often:
Spain
Greece
Latin America
Middle East
India
- Suez. The infection is found in wild boars. It also occurs in Europe, South America, and Southeast Asia.
- Canis. Infection with this type of bacteria is transmitted from dogs. It appears very often:
North, Central and South America
Japan
Central Europe
- abortus. This infection comes from cattle. It happens all over the world. It has been eliminated in many European countries, including Japan, Israel, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
What are the risk factors for brucellosis?
Brucellosis is more common in men. Men with this disease are more likely to work or work around livestock. Brucellosis is rare in children.
Brucellosis is more likely to occur if you have:
Eating or drinking unpasteurized dairy products from cows, goats, or other animals infected with bacteria
Eat other pasteurized cheeses called "Village Cheese." These came from high-risk areas, including the Mediterranean.
Travel to common areas in Brucella
Jobs in meat processing plant or slaughterhouse
Work on the farm
Brucellosis has also been reported in:
- In hunters.
Veterinarians immunized cattle with brucellosis
High risk occupations
People who work with animals or come in contact with infected blood are at increased risk for brucellosis. Examples:
Veterinarians
Milk producers
Ranchers
Slaughterhouse workers
Hunters
Microbiologists
How is brucellosis diagnosed?
Your doctor will examine you. Can have:
Inflammation of the liver
Swollen lymph nodes
A swollen spleen
Unexplained fever
Joint pain and inflammation
An eruption
Blood tests are done to diagnose the infection and determine what type of brucellosis makes you sick. Proper identification of the bacteria can help identify the source of the infection.
How is brucellosis treated?
Brucellosis is difficult to treat. If you have brucellosis, your doctor may prescribe antibiotics. Commonly used antibiotics to treat brucellosis:
Doxycycline (Acticlate, Monodox, Vibra-Tabs, Vibramycin)
Streptomycin
Ciprofloxacin (Cipro) or Ofloxacin (Floxin)
Rifampicin (Rifadin, Rimactane)
Sulfamethoxazole / Trimethoprim (Bacteria)
Tetracycline (sumacin)
Usually you are given a combination of doxycycline and rifampin for 6-8 weeks.
You must take antibiotics for several weeks to prevent the disease from coming back. The relapse state after treatment is 5 to 15% and usually occurs within the first six months after treatment.
Restoration can take weeks or even months. Patients treated within a month of the onset of symptoms will be cured of the disease.
Complications
Brucellosis can affect almost any part of your body, including your reproductive system, liver, heart, and central nervous system. Chronic brucellosis can cause problems in a single organ or throughout the body. Possible problems:
Infection of the lining of the heart (endocarditis). It is one of the most serious complications of brucellosis. Untreated endocarditis damages or destroys the heart valves and is the leading cause of brucellosis-related death.
Arthritis. Joint infection is characterized by pain, stiffness, and swelling in the joints, especially through the knees, hips, ankles, wrists, and spine. Spondylitis, inflammation of the joints between the bones of the spine (vertebrae) or between the spine and the pelvis, can be very difficult to treat and cause permanent damage.
Inflammation and infection of the testicles (epididymis-arthritis). The bacteria that cause brucellosis infect the epididymis, the vas deferens, and the coiled tube that connects the testicles. From there, the infection can spread to the testicles, causing inflammation and pain, which can be serious.
Inflammation and infection of the spleen and liver. Brucellosis also affects the spleen and liver, causing them to expand beyond their normal size.
Central nervous system infections. These include life-threatening diseases such as meningitis, inflammation of the lining of the brain and spinal cord, and encephalitis, inflammation of the brain.
Prevention
To reduce your risk of brucellosis, take these precautions:
Pasteurized dairy products should be avoided. In recent years in the United States, some cases of brucellosis have been associated with raw dairy products from domestic herds. However, it is best to avoid unpasteurized milk, cheese and ice cream, regardless of their origin. If you are traveling to other countries, stay away from all raw dairy products.
Cook the meat well. Cook all meat until internal temperature reaches 145 to 165 F (63 to 74 C). When dining at a restaurant, order beef and pork at least medium-high. Domestic meat in the United States is unlikely to contain the brucellosis bacteria, but proper cooking can destroy other harmful bacteria such as salmonella and Escherichia coli. When you go abroad, avoid buying meat from street vendors and ask that all meats be well prepared.
Wear gloves. If you are a veterinarian, farmer, hunter, or slaughterhouse worker, wear rubber gloves when handling sick or dead animals or tissues, or when assisting an animal to mating.
Take security precautions in high-risk offices. If you are working in a laboratory, keep all samples in proper biosafety conditions. Safety measures such as separating slaughterhouses from other processing areas and wearing protective clothing should also be followed.
Vaccinate pets. In the United States, the aggressive vaccination program has practically eliminated brucellosis in cattle herds. Because the brucellosis vaccine is live, it can cause illness in people. Anyone with an accidental needle stick should be treated when vaccinating an animal.
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