Brucella Flashcards
Brucellosis is endemic in which country?
It is endemic in Lebanon
Are they motile? Spore forming? Do they have a capsule?
They are nonmotile, non-spore forming, non encapsulated coccobacilli
What are the results of the catalase and oxidase test?
They are catalase and oxidase positive
Are they extracellular or intracellular bacteria?
They are facultative intracellular
To what they are sensitive?
They are sensitive to direct sunlight
How are they transmitted?
By ingestion of contaminated animal products like milk or cheese
By direct contact with infected animals like a splash of blood in the conjunctiva
Laboratory infection can occur
Who are the reservoir?
Why infected individuals do not transmit the disease?
Animals are the natural reservoir, humans are not, they all accidental hosts and this is why infected individuals do not transmit the disease
What is the clinical presentation?
Brucellosis which is the Malta fever or undulating fever
What is the characteristic of brucellosis?
Night sweats are a characteristic of brucellosis and sometimes they are accompanied with chills
What is the incubation period?
1 to 6 weeks
Where do they multiply?
How do they escape phagocytosis?
They multiply at the site of entry, then they multiply into macrophages
In macrophages they block the phagosome-lysosome fusion, especially the degranulation of myeloperoxidase system
How bacteria will pass to the blood?
Bacteria will go to the lymphatic channels, then to lymph nodes, to the thoracic duct and then to blood
Where bacteria can go?
They can go to all parenchymatous organs like liver, spleen, lungs, heart, kidneys etc…
Where bacteria are multiplying wherever they are?
What do we have in parenchymatous organs?
They are multiplying in macrophages.
This is why parenchymatous organs end up having granulomas
What is the host reaction to brucellosis?
The formation of caseating granulomas (caseation=form of necrosis, destruction that appears cheese-like, typical of tuberculosis)
From what are composed caseating granulomas?
A compact layer of mononuclear cells, epithelioid cells (they resemble epithelial cells, but their origin is the monocyte macrophage), giant cells (syncytium, multinucleated cells), lymphocytes and plasma cells.
What happens in individuals who recover?
That is a deposition of fibrotic tissue on the granuloma