Brucellosis / Brucellosis

RESUMO

Brucellosis is a zoonosis commont to mammals and occasionally humans especially people who live, work, have contact with infected animals and/or ingest their products (milk, meat, blood, urine, etc.). Brucellae are intracellular gram negative, aerobic, immobile and sporule-less coccobacilli of which different species exist affecting different mammals - Brucella melitensis (goats and sheep)- Brucella abortus (cow)- Brucella suis (pigs)Brucellosis, as with typhoid fever, is a cyclical septicaemia acquired by humans through the skin or the digestive tract, either by direct contact with infected animal produce or by its ingestion.Brucellosis is clinically manifested by a period of incubation; one of invasion and a state characterised by undulant fever, together with enlarged spleen and liver; arthralgia and arthritis especially of the cervical and lumbar spine and a mild general malaise. After a varyingperiod of time the condition, the following should be noted- In humans, 15 to 20 per cent of cases of brucellosis spontaneously recover.- There is a 40 to 50 per cent recurrence rate among non-treated cases.- Only some 8 to 10 per cent of treated cases show recurrence.- Complications occur in about 10 per cent of cases.- Total brucellosis mortality is low, around 2 to 3 per cent.