‫بسم اهلل الرحمن الرحيم‬

GENUS: BRUCELLA
Prof. Khalifa Sifaw Ghenghesh
 Aerobic, Gram-negative bacilli
 Appear as cocci, coccobacilli and short
bacilli
 Non-motile, non-capsulate
 Optimum temp. >> 37oC
 Facultative intracellular parasites
 Essentially pathogens of goats, Cattle,
sheep and pigs
 Causative agents of Brucellosis
(typical zoonosis) worldwide
 Also known as Malta, Mediterranean
or undulant fever
 Important species
 B. melitensis >> goats & sheep
 B. abortus >> cattle
 B. suis >> pigs

 Important:All 3 species can

infect man and domestic animals
 Brucella species
gram-negative bacilli
Brucella abortus
 PATHOGENESIS
 Incubation period: 10-30 days
 Symptoms may be delayed for months
 Enter the body through:
 Skin abrasions, mucous membranes of the

alimentary or respiratory tracts and

sometimes the conjunctivae>> reach the
blood through regional lymphatics.
 Symptoms may vary without the fluctuating
temperature to act as guide.
 Bacteria localize in various parts of the
reticulo-endothelial system resulting in
complications in any part of the body.
 Symptoms include: malaise, low-grade fever,
lassitude, insomnia, irritability and swelling
around the joints.
 LABORATORY DIAGNOSIS
1. Blood Culture
 Specimen
 Blood (10 ml volumes)
 Inoculate
 Blood culture tubes or bottles
(glucose-serum broth)
 Incubate in 10% CO2
 Cultures should be retained for at
least 6-8 weeks before being
discarded as negative
Brucella melitensis colonies
2. Serological Tests
 Standard agglutination test
 Mercaptoethanol test
 Complement fixation test
 Coobs’ test

3. Brucellin Skin Test

TREATMENT AND CONTROL
 Combination of streptomycin and
tetracycline or rifampicin and
doxycycline

 Vaccination of young cattle (6-8

months)
 Pasteurization of milk or milk
products
 Eradication by compulsory testing
animals and slaughtering positive
reactors.