brucellosis

Also known as undulant fever, Gibraltar fever, Mediterranean fever, Malta fever, Bang's disease, Cyprus fever, Rock fever, Maltese fever

Brucellosis is a zoonosis (zoonotic disease) spread primarily via ingestion of unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.

AI overview

Brucellosis is an infectious disease that spreads to humans mainly through drinking unpasteurized milk from infected animals, and it can cause prolonged fever that comes and goes in waves. It matters because it's a preventable infection that historically affected people in certain regions, particularly around the Mediterranean, and it can be avoided by consuming only pasteurized dairy products.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Key facts

Medical condition (new).treatment: antibiotics
Medical condition (new).medication: doxycycline, rifampicin, aminoglycosides
Medical condition (new).complications: central nervous system infections (meningitis, encephalitis), inflammation and infection of the spleen and liver, infection and inflammation of the epididymus and testicles (epididymo-orchitis), arthritis, inflammation of the inner lining of the heart chambers (endocarditis).
Medical condition (new).causes: Ingestion of bacteria within the genus Brucella
Medical condition (new).diagnosis: x-rays, computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cerebrospinal fluid culture, echocardiography.
Medical condition (new).prevention: avoid unpasteurized dairy foods, cook meat thoroughly, wear gloves, take safety precautions in high-risk workplaces, vaccinate domestic animals.
Medical condition (new).name: Brucellosis
Medical condition (new).synonyms: undulant fever, undulating fever, Mediterranean fever, Malta fever, Cyprus fever, rock fever (Micrococcus melitensis)
Medical condition (new).field: Infectious disease
Medical condition (new).symptoms: fever, chills, loss of appetite, sweats, weakness, fatigue, joint pain, muscle pain, back pain, headache.

via Wikipedia infobox

Research

17,595 papers

Human brucellosis.ReviewThe Lancet. Infectious diseases · 2007Franco MP, Mulder M, Gilman RH et al.DOI: 10.1016/S1473-3099(07)70286-4
Brucellosis.ReviewThe New England journal of medicine · 2005Pappas G, Akritidis N, Bosilkovski M et al.DOI: 10.1056/NEJMra050570
Brucellosis: Bacteriology, pathogenesis, epidemiology and role of the metallophores in virulence: a review.ReviewFrontiers in cellular and infection microbiology · 2025Ghssein G, Ezzeddine Z, Tokajian S et al.DOI: 10.3389/fcimb.2025.1621230
Brucellosis.ReviewJournal of the American Veterinary Medical Association · 2008Glynn MK, Lynn TVDOI: 10.2460/javma.233.6.900
[Brucellosis].ReviewActa medica portuguesa · 1999Aleixo MJ, Ferreira ML, Antunes F
Spinal brucellosis.ReviewNeuroimaging clinics of North America · 2015Tali ET, Koc AM, Oner AYDOI: 10.1016/j.nic.2015.01.004
Brucellosis in camels.ReviewResearch in veterinary science · 2012Gwida M, El-Gohary A, Melzer F et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.rvsc.2011.05.002
Brucellosis.Pediatrics in review · 2018Harrison ER, Posada RDOI: 10.1542/pir.2017-0126

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Image: Brucella spp.JPG

Show 7 more facts

Commons category: Brucellosis
NCI Thesaurus ID: C84602
ICPC 2 ID: A78
minimal incubation period in humans: 5
exact match: www.orpha.net/ORDO/Orphanet_1304
maximal incubation period in humans: 5
ICD-9-CM: 023.9

Sources (10)

via Wikidata · CC0

~33 min read

Article

35 sections

Contents

Signs and symptoms
Cause
Wildlife reservoirs and zoonotic transmission
Transmission through hunting and game meat consumption
Diagnosis
Prevention
Livestock vaccination and disease surveillance
Food safety and pasteurization
Wildlife reservoirs and disease control
Occupational safety and laboratory precautions
Public health education and community awareness
International disease control efforts and One Health integration
Treatment
Prognosis
Epidemiology
Argentina
Australia
Canada
China
Europe
Malta
Republic of Ireland
UK
New Zealand
United States
History
Biological warfare
Other animals
Cattle
Dogs
Aquatic wildlife
Terrestrial wildlife
See also
References
Further reading

Brucellosis is a zoonosis (zoonotic disease) spread primarily via ingestion of unpasteurized milk from infected animals. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.

The bacteria causing this disease, Brucella, are small, Gram-negative, nonmotile, nonspore-forming, rod-shaped (coccobacilli) bacteria. They function as facultative intracellular parasites, causing chronic disease, which usually persists for life. Four species infect humans: B. abortus, B. canis, B. melitensis, and B. suis. B. abortus is less virulent than B. melitensis and is primarily a disease of cattle. B. canis affects dogs. B. melitensis is the most virulent and invasive species; it usually infects goats and occasionally sheep. B. suis is of intermediate virulence and chiefly infects pigs. Symptoms include profuse sweating and joint and muscle pain. Brucellosis has been recognized in animals and humans since the early 20th century.