Brucellosis Definition, Reason, Symptoms, Treatment & Prevention

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella bacteria that generally occurs in livestock, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and camels.

Understanding

Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella bacteria that generally occurs in livestock, such as cattle, sheep, goats, and camels. The incidence of brucellosis in humans is very rare.

Humans can become infected by coming into contact with infected animals or consuming unpasteurized products from these animals. Transmission between humans is very rare.

Reason

Brucellosis infection in humans comes from cattle, sheep, goats, or camels infected with brucellosis. A person is more susceptible to developing brucellosis if:

• Consuming undercooked beef, goat, or lamb
• Drink unpasteurized cow’s or goat’s milk
• Working in beef, goat, or lamb meat processing facilities contaminated with Brucella bacteria
• Work on a cattle, goat, or sheep farm

Symptom

The initial symptoms of brucellosis are similar to those of other infectious diseases, namely fever, excessive sweating, headaches, muscle, and joint pain, loss of appetite, and fatigue. These symptoms can occur only briefly or for a long time, depending on a person’s immune system.

If the body’s immune system is not good, then symptoms of intermittent fever, joint inflammation, swelling of the testicles, infection of the inner lining of the heart (endocarditis), enlargement of the liver and spleen, and nerve disorders may occur.

Diagnosis

To ensure the presence of brucellosis, the doctor will recommend that someone do a blood test. Blood tests are carried out to see the presence of bacteria that cause brucellosis and detect the presence of antibodies to these bacteria.

Treatment

The main treatment for brucellosis is with antibiotics. Common antibiotics are doxycycline and rifampicin. Antibiotics may only be consumed by patients based on a doctor’s prescription and instructions. Brucellosis healing takes several weeks to several months.

Prevention

To prevent brucellosis, these things need to be done:

• Avoid consuming undercooked meat
• Avoid consuming unpasteurized milk and its processed products (cheese, yogurt, ice cream).
• Farmers and those working with beef, lamb, and goat meat should always wear rubber gloves, eye protection, and body armor (apron) when working.