Brucellosis diagnosis

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Brucellosis, chlamydial pneumonias, infective endocarditis, legionnaires disease, mycoplasma infections, pneumonia, Cox-iella burnetii infection, Francisella tularensis infection, Q fever, tuberculosis, tularemia, typhoid fever, and all atypical pneumonia. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Bartonellosis, brucellosis, other causes of encephalitis, coxsackieviruses, cryptococcosis, cysticercosis, cytomegalovirus, histoplasmosis, legionellosis, leptospirosis, listeria, lyme disease, malaria, rabies, tuberculosis, mumps, stroke, metabolic encephalopathy, Reye syndrome, Bartonella infection, Naegleria infection, Ebstein-Barr virus, prion disease, toxic ingestions, and AIDS. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis In pigs Nipah virus, Aujeszky s disease, brucellosis, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus, Classical swine fever, parvovirus. In horses Equine encephalomyelitis (Western, Eastern, and Venezuelan), Rabies, Borna disease, Lead poisoning, Tetanus. 

Suggested Alternatives for Differential Diagnosis Anthrax, brucellosis, dengue, ehrlichiosis, infectious mononucleosis, Kawasaki disease, leptospirosis, malaria, meningitis, men-ingococcemia, relapsing fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, syphilis, toxic shock syndrome, toxoplasmosis, tularemia, typhoid fever, rubella, measles. 

Differential diagnosis of typhoid fever includes other Salmonella infections, leptospirosis, schistosomiasis, disseminated tuberculosis, malaria, brucellosis, viral hepatitis. Yersinia enterocolitis, influenza, lymphoma, toxoplasmosis, infectious mononucleosis, tuphus, encephalopathy and connective-tissue disorders. 

A thorough history that elicits details of appropriate exposure (eg, laboratories, animals, animal products, or environmental exposure to locations inhabited by potentially infected animals) is the most important diagnostic tool. Brucellosis should also be strongly considered in differential diagnosis of febrile illness if troops have been exposed to a presumed biological attack. Polymerase chain reaction and antibody-based antigen detection systems may demonstrate the presence of the organism in environmental samples collected from the attack area. 

Young EJ. Serologic diagnosis of human brucellosis Analysis of 214 cases by agglutination tests and review of the literature. Rev Infect Dis. 1991 13(3) 359-372. 

Supportive therapy should be started initially as directed by the clinical condition of the casualty. If a diagnosis of brucellosis is suspected, the case should be discussed urgently with a consultant microbiologist. There is usually no risk of person-to-person spread and standard precautions should be considered appropriate. However, in the case of a suspected recent aerosolised release or physical exposure to a... 

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