Irregular fever, headache, profound weakness and fatigue, chills, sweating, arthralgias, mylagias. Depression and mental status changes. Fatalities are uncommon. Blood cultures require a prolonged period of incubation in the acute phase. Bone marrow cultures produce a higher yield.
Confirmation requires phage-typing, oxidative metabolism, or genotyping procedures.
Therapy with rifampin, a tetracycline, and an aminoglycoside is indicated for infections with complications such as endocarditis or meningoencephalitis. No approved human vaccine is available. Avoid consumption of unpasteurized milk and cheese. Abattoir and laboratory worker infections suggest that Brucella spp. It is estimated that inhalation of only 10 to 100 bacteria is sufficient to cause disease in man.