People with brucellosis may develop fever, sweats, headaches, back pains, and physical weakness. In severe cases, the central nervous system and the lining of the heart may be affected. One form of the illness may also cause long-lasting symptoms, including recurrent fevers, joint pain, and fatigue.
The infection can usually be treated with antibiotics. However, treatment takes several weeks to months, and the infection can recur. Brucellosis affects hundreds of thousands of people and animals worldwide.
Your healthcare provider will treat brucellosis with a combination of at least two types of antibiotics. You'll need to take them for at least six to eight weeks. Depending on your specific case, you may need other therapies (like draining infected areas or managing complications).
Brucellosis has been eradicated from Australian cattle herds, but it still present in feral pigs in northern Australia and is a risk to those who hunt and/or butcher feral pigs. Those infected with brucellosis usually recover, but disability can be pronounced and relapses may occur.
Untreated, the disease may become chronic. The various symptoms are both general (fever, weakness, joint pain) and organ-specific (including infections in the brain infection and heart valves). Untreated, brucellosis can lead to death. Prolonged antibiotic treatment is usually effective.
Brucellosis can also cause long-lasting (chronic) symptoms including fever, chronic tiredness, and swelling in other body parts, such as the joints, testicle and scrotum area, lining of the heart, liver, spleen, brain, or spinal cord. Although rare, death can occur.
Bovine brucellosis (B. abortus) was eradicated from the Australian cattle herd in 1989 and is presently considered an exotic animal disease in Australia.
Symptoms and Signs of Brucellosis
Onset may be sudden, with chills and fever, severe headache, joint and low back pain, malaise, and occasionally diarrhea. Or onset may be insidious, with mild prodromal malaise, muscle pain, headache, and pain in the back of the neck, followed by a rise in evening temperature.
Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. People can get the disease when they are in contact with infected animals or animal products contaminated with the bacteria. Animals that are most commonly infected include sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and dogs, among others.
Brucellosis affects males and females in equal numbers. The disorder is rare in the United States since pasteurization of milk is routine and cattle are vaccinated against this disease. Fewer than 100 new cases are reported each year in the United States.
Brucellosis can spread from dogs to people through contact with an infected dog's birthing fluids and vaginal discharge while birthing puppies. This is why dog breeders and veterinarians are at higher risk.
Brucellosis can be diagnosed in a laboratory by finding bacteria in samples of blood, bone marrow or other bodily fluids. Serological tests can also be done to detect antibodies against the bacteria.
People with brucellosis may develop fever, sweats, headaches, back pains, and physical weakness. In severe cases, the central nervous system and the lining of the heart may be affected. One form of the illness may also cause long-lasting symptoms, including recurrent fevers, joint pain, and fatigue.
Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella species. It is known by many other names, including remitting fever, undulant fever, Mediterranean fever, Maltese fever, Gibraltar fever, Crimean fever, goat fever, and Bang disease.
Person-to-person spread of brucellosis is extremely rare. Infected mothers who are breast-feeding may transmit the infection to their infants. Sexual transmission has been rarely reported. While uncommon, transmission may also occur via tissue transplantation or blood transfusions.
People who work with animals and are in contact with blood, placenta, foetuses and uterine secretions have an increased risk of contracting the disease. This method of transmission primarily affects farmers, butchers, hunters, veterinarians and laboratory personnel.
Although vaccination of individuals living in brucellosis endemic areas, veterinarians, livestock, and laboratory personnel is essential, human vaccines have not yet been developed (9). Live-attenuated vaccines are the most effective vaccines used to control animal brucellosis (10).
Conclusions: There is a clear overlap between brucellosis and tuberculosis both in terms of clinical presentation and laboratory parameters.
Lethality: Brucellosis has a very low mortality rate, less than 5% of untreated cases, with most deaths caused by endocarditis or meningitis.
Except for possible cases of transmission after blood transfusion, parenteral drug use and bone marrow transplant (1), brucellosis is still considered not to be transmissible from person to person via close contact (2).
Brucellosis is a reportable condition in all states and territories. Brucellosis cases must be reported to jurisdictions when identified by a healthcare provider, hospital, or laboratory.
Clinical Signs in Dogs
Infected male dogs may have abnormally sized testicles (swollen or shrunken). Other signs observed with canine brucellosis include infertility, anorexia, weight loss, pain, lameness, incoordination, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle weakness.
Brucellosis caused by Brucella abortus, B. suis, or B. melitensis is relatively rare in dogs. In cases that do occur, the dogs are usually around livestock, as they are the primary source of those strains of the bacteria.
Infected swine carry these bacteria for life. You can get sick with brucellosis if blood, body fluid, or tissues (such as meat, testicles, liver, and other organs) from an infected animal comes in contact with your eyes, nose, mouth, or cuts in your skin.