Brucella

Brucella are very fastidious organisms requiring a rich growth medium. They are also slow growing, and media are therefore supplemented by a cocktail of 

VIBRIO Coccobacillus, comma shaped, single flagellum, aquatic. 

BRUCELLA Short rods, grows poorly, needs increased CO2, grows in presence of aniline dyes. 

SHIGELLA Lactose negative (most), separate on serology. 

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In 1971, levamisole, an anthelmintic compound widely used in catde and swine, was shown to improve the effects of an experimental Brucella abortus vaccine in mice. Since that time, the veterinarians and physicians have explored the effects of levamisole in such diverse areas as arthritis, lupus erythematosis, cancer therapy, respiratory diseases, Newcastle disease, foot-and-mouth disease, mastitis, and vaccine potentiation. Although the exact mechanism of action has as yet not been deterrnined there is substantial evidence that, under defined circumstances, levamisole can augment the animal s natural immune response (9). New immunostimulants include Staph Ijysate acemannon, NLAB-31. 

Gram negative. Bacteria that fail to retain Gram stain. This group includes the genera Salmonella, Pseudmonas, Pasteurella, Escherichia, and Brucella. 

Brucella abortus is a cause of spontaneous abortion in cattle. In humans it causes undulant fever, i.e. a fever in which temperature undulates with time. Brucella melitensis infects goats it causes an undulant fever called Malta fever, which is common in people living in Mediterranean countries where large flocks of goats are kept. 

Brucella suis is found in pigs it too manifests itself in humans as undulant fever and occurs frequently in North America. 

Yersinia enterocolitica, Babesia spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Brucella spp. 

Hayhurst A., Happe S., Mabry R., Koch Z., Iverson B.L., Georgiou G., Isolation and expression of recombinant antibody fragments to the biological warfare pathogen Brucella melitensis, J. Immunol. Meth. 2003 276 185-196. 

Jagannath, C., and Sehgal, S. (1989) Enhancement of the antigen-binding capacity of incomplete IgG antibodies to Brucella melitensis through Fc region interactions with Staphylococcal protein A. J. Immunol. Meth. 124, 251-257. 

Brucella species including B. abortus B. melitensis B. suis (Agent US)... 

CDC Case Definition An illness characterized by acute or insidious onset of fever, night sweats, undue fatigue, anorexia, weight loss, headache, and arthralgia. Laboratory criteria for diagnosis is (1) isolation of Brucella species from a clinical specimen or (2) fourfold or greater rise in Brucella agglutination titer between acute- and convalescent-phase serum specimens obtained >2 weeks apart and studied at the same laboratory or (3) demonstration by immunofluorescence of Brucella species in a clinical specimen. 

Material Safety Data Sheet-Infectious Substances Brucella spp. (B. abortus, B. canis, B. melitensis,... 

Brucella suis Eubacteria 3.30 (thale cress) Hordeum vulgare Plant 5.0... 

V. G. DelVecchio and C. V. Mujer. 2004. Comparative Proteomics of Brucella Species. In Brucella Molecular and Cellular Biology, eds. I. Lopez-Goni, and I. Moriyon, Chapter 6, pp. 103-115, Horizon Bioscience, Norfolk, UK. 

Caution Avoid drinking unpasteurized milk products and practice good veterinary vaccination practices to avoid natural forms of brucellosis. In a terrorism attack with aerosol, livestock could possibly become contaminated. If this occurs, animal products should be pasteurized, boiled, or thoroughly cooked prior to eating. Water would have to be treated by boiling or iodination after any intentional contamination with brucella aerosols. 

Field First Aid Brucella is typically an acute, non-specific feverish illness with chills, sweats, headache, fatigue, myalgias, artthralgias, and anorexia (loss of appetite). Cough occurs in 15 to 25 percent of cases but a chest X-ray is usually normal. Complications may include arthritis, sacroiliitis, and vertebral osteomyelitis. Untreated disease may persist for month to years, often with relapses and remissions. Disability may be pronounced, and lethality may approach six percent. Brucellosis may be indistinguishable clinically from the typhoidal form of tularemia (see Guide For Emergency Response for Tularemia) or from typhoid fever itself. 

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