Pages Below:

Brucellosis

• Brucella spp.
• small gram -ve non-motile coccibacilli
• intracellular replication
• shed in milk

Species

• B. abortus - cows worldwide
• B. melitensis - mediterranean goats, esp Malta
• B. suis - pigs - USA, S. America, SE asia

Course

• Entry via skin abrasions or respiratory tract
• Incubation 1-3 weeks
• Malaise
• Drenching sweats
• Rising / falling fever - "Malta fever"
• septicaemia
• granulomatous inflammatory reaction in tissues
• no abortion in humans
  • lack of erythritol sugar
• recovery after a few weeks  but chronic form may persist
• Relapses and remissions

Control

• Tetracycline / streptomycin - 3 months
• pasteurisation
• eradication
  • vaccination - no human available
  • slaughter - not of humans!!!
• Protective gear