Brucellosis - Symptom, Causes, Treatment of Brucellosis

What is Brucellosis?

An infectious disease of domestic animals (cattle pigs, sheep, goats) and some wild animals, caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Specific types of brucella infect different host animals. Brucellosis can be passed to humans if infected animal secretions enter the body through a skin break, or by ingestion of unpasteurised milk or milk products from infected aninials. Human brucellosis is also called undulant fever. Meatworkers, veterinarians, farmers and those who 'shoot wild animals are the only people liable to be infected, and are unlikely to pass brucella to other humans.

Symptom of Brucellosis

After an incubation period varying from a week or so to several months, the first sign is a sudden fever without other specific symptoms. If the infection is not recognised and treated, it pro-gresses to the chronic relapsing stage, with bouts of fever and malaise recurring every few weeks and resulting in severe debilitation.

Diagnosis and Treatment of Brucellosis

Suspected brucellosis is confinned by finding the bacterium or antibodies to it in the blood. A combination of antibiotics given for 3 to 6 weeks will usually overcome human brucellosis.

Prevention of Brucellosis

Brucellosis is still an animal health problem in many countries, so travellers abroad should avoid unpasteurised milk, milk products and undercooked game. In Australia human infection is rare since a program of vaccination and monitoring has eliminated brucellosis from domestic animals. There have been no cattle infections reported since the late 1980s. However, the infection still turns up occasionally in shooters of feral pigs, so there must be a reservoir of brucella in wild animals. Gloves should be worn when handling game meat, which should also be well cooked.

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