Brucellosis

Abstract

Brucellosis, like tuberculosis, is a chronic granulomatous in-fection caused by intracellular bacteria and requires combined, protracted anti-biotic treatment. The disease causes much clinical morbidity as well as a consid-erable loss of productivity in animal husbandry in the developing world. In this era ofinternational tourism, brucellosis has become a common imported disease in the de-veloped world.Brucellosis has been present for millennia and has managed to elude eradication,even in most developed countries. A high prevalence in certain geographic areas is wellrecognized, although largely underestimated. The relationship between thedisease and individual socioeconomic status is exemplified in the United States, whereprograms to eradicate brucellosis have successfully limited the annual incidence of thedisease, which now occurs predominantly in California and Texas (which account formore than half of the U.S. cases), with relatively high rates of incidence in North Caroli-na, Illinois, Florida, Wyoming, Iowa, and Arizona. The disease usually presents in His-panic populations and is probably related to the illegal importation of unpasteurizeddairy products from neighboring Mexico, where the disease is endemic.