Brucella spp.

Brucellosis is an infectious transmissible disease of animals affecting cattle, small ruminants, pigs, dogs, cats, mice. The infection is caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella. Brucella melitensis is the most pathogenic for humans followed by B. suis and B. abortus. The infection in humans is cosmopolitan. The disease is considered endemic in the Mediterranean basin, Middle East, Latin America and clusters in Asia. Transmission to humans may be due to direct contact with animal excretes during milking parturition slaughtering etc. Indirect contact may be attributed to the consumption of unpasteurized dairy products. The latter seems to be the most common way of human infection. Main symptoms are fever, sweat headaches backaches fatigue. 2-20% of affected people may develop an infection of the reproductive system while in severe cases there may be nervous system involvement. In chronic infections there is recurrent fever, arthralgy and fatigue.