Unnave Marindhu: Sivaraman on ‘non-communicable diseases’ — 1

Zoobiquity: Salmonellosis, Lyme Disease, TB in Humans/Animals

Human Disease – Brucellosis

Brucellosis is also called as Rock fever; Cyprus fever; Undulant fever; Gibraltar fever; Malta fever; Mediterranean fever. Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by contact with animals carrying bacteria called Brucella.

Causes:

Brucella can infect cattle, goats, camels, dogs, and pigs. Four different species of Brucella are responsible for causing brucellosis n humans. The bacteria can spread to humans if in contact with infected meat or the placenta of infected animals and also by eating or drinking unpasteurized milk or cheese. People working in jobs requiring frequent contact with animals or meat such as slaughterhouse workers, farmers, and veterinarians are at high risk. Brucellosis is very uncommon in the United States with only 100-200 cases being reported every year.

Signs & Symptoms:

1)      Acute brucellosis may begin with mild flu-like symptoms or symptoms such as: fever, abdominal pain, back pain, chills, excessive sweating, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, joint pain, weakness and weight loss.

2)      Additional symptoms that may be associated with this disease: muscle pain and swollen glands.

3)      The illness may be chronic and persist for years.

4)      Other complications include: bone and joint lesions, chronic fatigue syndrome, encephalitis, infective endocarditis and meningitis.

Tests:

1)      Clean catch urine culture

2)      Blood culture

3)      Bone marrow culture

4)      CSF culture

5)      Serology – To detect brucellosis antigen

The organism might change the results for the following tests

1)      Serum immunoelectrophoresis

2)      Febrile or Cold Agglutinins

3)      Quantitative Immunoglobulin’s

Treatment & prognosis:

1)      Antibiotics are used to treat the infection and prevent it from coming back. Longer courses of therapy may be needed if there are complications.

2)      The most commonly used antibiotics include include doxycycline (Vibramycin), streptomycin, rifampin (Rifadin), gentamicin (Garamycin), (Bactrim, Septra).

3)      Relapse may occur, and symptoms may continue for years. As with tuberculosis, the illness can come back after a long period of time. The use of multidrug(two or more) antibiotic regime is recommended in this case.

Prevention & control:

• Drinking and eating only pasteurized milk and cheeses is the most important preventative measure.
• People who handle meat should wear protective glasses and clothing and protect skin breaks from infection.
• Detecting infected animals controls the infection at its source. Vaccination is available for cattle, but not humans.

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