Brucellosis in humans - symptoms, prevention and treatment

Brucellosis in humans Brucellosis (Maltese fever) is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by various brucella species.

The disease is prone to chronic course and is characterized by a nonspecific clinical picture with multiple lesions of various organs and systems of the human body. It is very important to detect symptoms of brucellosis in a timely manner, an experienced doctor can easily recognize them at the first examination.

The causative agent of brucellosis is nothing but small microorganisms, well adapted to any environmental conditions, called brucella. They do not die at low temperatures, they can be found in the soil, on the fur of domestic animals, in cow's milk, and also in water and frozen meat. And while the safety of Brucella varies from 1.5 to 5 months. When the temperature rises to 100 ° C, Brucella die.

Synonyms of the disease - Maltese hyperthermia, hyperthermia of Cyprus, Gibraltar hyperthermia, undulating hyperthermia, Bruce's septicemia, Bang's pathology.

What is brucellosis?

How can you get brucellosis, and what is it? Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection characterized by multiple organ pathologies and a tendency to chronization. Allergic reactivity is a significant pathogenetic component of brucellosis. Brucellosis pathogens belong to the bacteria of the genus Brucella, among which there are recognized the existence of eight independent species, six of which are capable of causing disease in humans: B.melitensis, B.abortus, B.suis, B.canis, B.pinnipediae, B.cetaceae.

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Among the common brucella species B. melitensis is the most virulent and causes the most severe and acute cases of the disease. B.suis is associated with a prolonged course of the disease, accompanied by the development of purulent destructive lesions. B. abortus and B. canis, as a rule, cause mild or moderate sporadic diseases with a rare development of complications. Cases of the disease caused by B.pinnipediae and B.cetaceae have been described relatively recently.

Transmission of the infection is carried out mainly by the fecal-oral mechanism, most often by food and water, in some cases it is possible to implement contact-household (with the introduction of the pathogen through microtraumas of the skin and mucous membranes) and aerogenic (by inhalation of the infected dust) pathways.

Significant epidemiological danger is milk, obtained from sick animals and dairy products (cheese, koumiss, cheese), meat, products from animal raw materials (wool, leather). Animals contaminate soil with feces, water, fodder, which can also contribute to human infection by non-food. Contact-household and air-dust path are realized when caring for animals and processing animal raw materials.

Symptoms of brucellosis in humans

The incubation period of brucellosis is 7 days - 8 weeks, usually 2 weeks. Symptoms of brucellosis in humans develop, usually, gradually and do not have special characteristics.

However, patients, as a rule,present 4 main complaints:

Intermittent soreness in the joints, mostly in the lower extremities, is sometimes painful and violent.
An increase in body temperature in the form of a long subfebrile condition (up to 38 ° C) or wave-like type with sharp ups and downs.
Intensive sweating, sweating, sometimes night sweats.
A sharp asthenia and a breakdown.

Some patients have a long subfebrile condition. The fever can last for months, it is typical that even at high temperature the patients retain consciousness, the spleen and liver are enlarged. Brucellosis often affects the nervous, reproductive systems and the musculoskeletal system.

There are also arthritis (hip, sacroiliac and other large joints), periarteritis, bursitis, tendo-vaginta, spondylitis, neuralgia, neuritis (sciatica), less often - meningitis, encephalitis, etc. In men, there are orchids, epididymitis, and in women - dysmenorrhoea, oophoritis, salpingitis and even abortions.

Chronic form

There comes a chronic form in case of adaptation of the organism to the causative agent, while in a person the signs of the disease periodically exacerbate and subside. This form is characterized by symptoms in the form of mild intoxication and the absence of an increase in body temperature (sometimes up to 37.5). If the disease turns into a remission form of exacerbation, then the person has symptomatology similar to the acute one. A very common symptom is an increase in lymph nodes, liver and spleen.

At this stage, many internal organs can already be affected, most often the locomotor apparatus, in particular the joints and large muscles, is affected. Pain in joints and their swelling are caused by uncontrolled proliferation of bone tissue.

The result of the transition of brucellosis into the chronic form can be neuritis, radiculitis, meningitis, encephalitis, metritis and other diseases, while pregnant women with a high probability of probability lose fruit. In men, pathogens with a chronic form of indisposition cause hormonal failures, the appearance of impotence and in some situations of infertility, which is caused by a negative effect on the testicles.

The chronic type of the disease can last for 2-3 years, but if there is a re-infection, the period becomes much longer.

Diagnosis of brucellosis

If there are signs of the disease for the diagnosis, in addition to anamnesis, it is necessary to conduct some laboratory studies.

For this, a person needs to pass tests for brucellosis, which includes 2 types of research:

Serological diagnosis- the most common method of diagnosis, in which using various techniques (agglutination reaction, enzyme immunoassay), an increase in the titer of antibodies to certain brucella species is detected.
Bacteriological Studywith the isolation of the bacterium culture of the pathogen and their identification.

For additional diagnosis, in order to determine the severity and localization of structural changes in organs, clinical analysis of blood and urine, X-ray and ultrasound techniques of instrumental examination.

Treatment of brucellosis in humans

When brucellosis symptoms appear, the treatment consists in destroying the pathogen that has penetrated the human body. Usually, as an antibacterial therapy, doctors prescribe streptomycin, levomycetin, as well as other antibiotics of the tetracycline group, which successfully cure brucellosis: treatment lasts three to four weeks and is accompanied by additional maintenance therapy.

With early detection and timely treatment of the disease can be successfully cured. The severe form of brucellosis can lead to infection of the central nervous system, endocarditis (inflammation of the inner shell of the heart or heart valves), liver abscess. In addition, brucellosis can cause protracted symptoms, similar to the symptoms of chronic fatigue: periodic fever, weakness, fatigue, joint pain.

Forecast

With incorrect or inadequate treatment, as well as with therapy, which was started late, the disease in 80% of cases becomes chronic. Brucellosis in a person whose symptoms are so diverse, and treatment is quite long, is rarely the cause of death.

However, we must remember that this ailment very often leads to disability. And the severity of the residual phenomena after the transferred disease depends on what kind of brucella infection occurred. The most serious complication is the defeat of the spinal cord and paralysis. It is for this reason that much attention should be paid to the prevention of the disease.

Prevention

In the case of brucellosis, prophylaxis is the elimination of brucellosis foci among animals and the prevention of foodborne infections, the conduct of a specific vaccination of persons with a 7-year-old age with negative serological and allergic reactions to brucellosis in the presence of indications. Persons vaccinated with live anti-brucellosis vaccine are allowed to work for prevention not earlier than three weeks after vaccination.