Brucella Flashcards
What are the characteristics of Brucella?
- Gram negative
- Short rods (Coccobacilli)
- Aerobic (nonfermentative)
- Some carboxyphilic
- Facultatively intracellular pathogen
- Zoonotic
What are the Brucell species?
- ANY species can infect any animal species
- B. abortus - cattle
- B. suis - Swine
- B. melitensis - Sheep, Goat, Humans
- B. ovis - Sheep
- B. canis - dogs
- B. neotomae - Desert wood rats (restricted host range and geographic distribution)
What is “Clasical Brucella”?
- B. abortus, B. suis, and B. melitensis
- Lited as protential bio-weapons by CDC
- Highly infectious
- Easily aerosolized
- Difficult to detect
What is the virulence of different Brucella species?
- B. abortus & B. melitensis Highly virulence
- B. ovis & B. canis Low virulence
- B. suis Intermediate virulence
How is Brucella transmitted?
- Primarily oral or venereal
- B. abortus & B. melitensis: More often oral
- B. ovis, B. suis, & B. canis More often venereal
Differentiation of Brucella Species
What is Brucellosis?
- Infections of the reproductive organs
- Uterus, placenta
- Testicles, particularly epididymis
- Causes Abortions
- Zoonotic disease
What is Erythritol?
- Growth factor
- Present in placenta and testicle (not in humans)
- B. abortus, B. suis, & B. melitensis have preference
- B. canis does not require
What is Brucella abortus?
- Colonies exhibit Smooth to Rough dissociation
- Change in LPS structure
- R is avirulent
What is the Habitat for Brucella abortus?
- Obligate pathogen of animals
- Source of infection: infected or carrier animals
- Uterine discharges
- Milk and milk product
- feces
What is the geographic distribution of Brucella abortus?
- Worldwide
- Practically eradicated in the US
- All 50 state and Puerto Rico and Virgin islands are ‘Brucellosis class free’
- Still detected in states adjacent to Yellow Stone
What is the mode of infection of Brucella abortus?
- Ingstion
- Venereal transmission
- Milk from infected cows - for calves
How is Brucella abotus zoonotic?
- Occupational disease for Veterinarians and Slaughter house workers
- Vets:
- during vaccination
- Removal of retained placenta
What are the Virulence Factors of Brucella abortus?
- Endotoxin
- Abilit to survve in macrophages (Facultatively intracellular)
What diseases does Brucella abortus cause?
- Contagious abortion (Bang’s diesease)
- Abortion >5 mo, with retained placenta
- Infertility, mastitis
- Bull: orchitis and epididymitis
- Affects joints
What lesions are seen with Brucella abortus?
- Granulomatous and Suppurative
- Placentitis
- Endometritis
- Fetus:
- Edema and congestion of lungs
- hemorrhages of the epicardium and splenic capsule
How is Brucella abortus Diagnosed?
- Difficut in bulls and non-pregnant females
- usually asymptomatic
- Abortion in cow
- particularly multiple in a herd
- Cattle with following signs should be tested:
- Abortion
- Increased frequency of retained placenta
- Testicular enlargement/abscesses
- Cultural examination:
- Sample: Fetal stomach contents, Placenta, Vaginal discharge, semen, Milk, Lymph nodes
- PCR assay for species confirmation
- Serology:
- Tube agglutination test
- Rapid plate agglutination test
- Milk Ring (ABRT) test
- Card test
- Vaccinated animals have IgM
- Infected animals have IgG
How is the specificity of testing for Brucella abortus increased?
- Repeat test after several weeks
- Heating serum to 65C for 15 min
- Treatment ofserum with Rivanol or Mercaptoethanol (degrade IgM)