Brucellosis - Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

Brucellosis Definition

An infectious bacterial disease of humans that is caused by brucellae. It is transmitted by contact with infected animals and brucellae may be characterized by fever, malaise, and headache. Brucellosis is an extremely variable disease. Transmission from animals can occur by consuming unpasteurised milk or unpasteurised milk products from infected animals   

Brucellosis may also be called Gibraltar fever, Mediterranean fever, Rock fever, undulant fever, undulant fever, Malta fever, Bang's disease, Titer, or Brucella Serology.

Brucellosis Causes

The ultimate prevention of human Brucellosis rests with the elimination of the disease from animals. Brucellosis may be caused by the nonmotile, and nonspore-forming. It may also cause reoccurring fever and arthritis. Humans are generally infected in one of three ways: eating or drinking something that is contaminated with Brucella , breathing in the organism. The organism can enter the body through skin abrasions or mucous membranes, including conjunctiva.    

It may be spread to humans through:

• Drinking unpasteurized milk
• Eating dairy foods from infected cows, sheep, or goats
• Inhaling the bacteria
• Breastfeeding
• Sexual transmission
• Tissue transplantation

Brucellosis Symptoms

Onset of brucellosis is usually insidious, but the disease course falls into two distinct phases.

Some of the symptoms of Brucellosis may incude:

• Flu-like symptoms.
• Fever.
• Sweats.
• Back pains.
• Malaise.
• Lethargy.
• Headache.
• Muscle pain.
• Chills.
• Severe headache and backache.
• Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea.

The disease may last for several days, months or occasionally for a year.

Brucellosis Treatments

Treatments for Brucellosis mey be included antibiotics,tetracyclines, co-trimoxazole and gentamicin. A combination of antibiotics for a least six weeks is necessary for best treatment.

Recommended therapy is a combination of doxycycline and rifampicin for six weeks. Treatment is expensive and often unsuccessful, especially if not instigated early in infection.

Doxycycline is usually not prescribed for children until after all the permanent teeth have come in.