1887

Abstract

Consumption of inadequately pasteurized dairy products is the most common means of transmission of brucellosis. This report describes two foodborne outbreaks that occurred in families infected after consumption of fresh home-made cheese bought in different Argentine provinces. High resolution variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR)-based analysis revealed two well-defined groups comprising essentially identical profiles and corresponding to the two different outbreaks. Similar clinical findings in members of the same family could indicate that the differential virulence of different bacterial clones, as indicated by VNTR data, could have influenced the course of the disease. We observed the importance of adequate treatment in early stages of the disease; combination therapy and extended treatment for 6 weeks or longer yielded significantly better results. The risk of the foodborne transmission of this zoonotic disease and disease prevention should be considered.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.017525-0
2010-06-01
2024-10-12
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/jmm/59/6/648.html?itemId=/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.017525-0&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

References

  1. Akritidis N., Pappas G. 2001; Ascites caused by brucellosis: a report of two cases. Scand J Gastroenterol 36:110–112 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Al Dahouk S., Hagen R. M., Nöckler K., Tomaso H., Wittig M., Scholz H. C., Vergnaud G., Neubauer H. 2005; Failure of a short-term antibiotic therapy for human brucellosis using ciprofloxacin. A study on in vitro susceptibility of Brucella strains. Chemotherapy 51:352–356 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Al Dahouk S., Flèche P. L., Nöckler K., Jacques I., Grayon M., Scholtz H. C., Tomaso H., Vergnaud G., Neubauer H. 2007; Evaluation of Brucella MLVA typing for humans brucellosis. J Microbiol Methods 69:137–145 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Alton G. G., Jones L. M., Angus R. D., Verger J. M. 1988; Bacteriological and serological methods. In Techniques for the Brucellosis Laboratory pp 13–136 Paris: Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique;
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Ariza J., Bosilkovski M., Cascio A., Colmenero J. D., Corbel M. J., Falagas M. E., Memish Z. A., Roushan M. R. H., Rubinstein E. other authors 2007; Perspectives for the treatment of brucellosis in the 21st century: the Ioannina recommendations. PLoS Med 4:e317 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bravo M. J., Colmenero J. D., Alonso A., Caballero A. 2003; HLA-B*39 allele confers susceptibility to osteoarticular complications in human brucellosis. J Rheumatol 30:1051–1053
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bravo M. J., Colmenero J. D., Martín J., Alonso A., Caballero A. 2007; Polymorphism of the transmembrane region of the MICA gene and human brucellosis. Tissue Antigens 69:358–360 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Bravo M. J., Colmenero J. D., Queipo-Ortuño M. I., Alonso A., Caballero A. 2008; TGF- β 1 and IL-6 gene polymorphism in Spanish brucellosis patients. Cytokine 44:18–21 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Bricker B. J., Ewalt D. R., Halling S. M. 2003; Brucella “HOOF Prints”: strain typing by multilocus analysis of variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs). BMC Microbiol 3:15 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Budak F., Göral G., Heper Y., Yilmaz E., Aymak F., Baçstürk B., Töre O., Ener B., Oral H. B. 2007; IL-10 and IL-6 gene polymorphisms as potential host susceptibility factors in brucellosis. Cytokine 38:32–36 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Castell Monsalve J., Rullan J. V., Peiro Callizo E. F., Nieto Sandoval Alcolea A. 1996; Epidemic outbreak of 81 cases of brucellosis following the consumption of fresh cheese without pasteurisation. Rev Esp Salud Publica 70:303–311 (in Spanish
    [Google Scholar]
  12. CDC 1997; Case definitions for infectious conditions under public health surveillance. MMWR Recomm Rep 46:1–55
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Corbel M. J. 2006 Brucellosis in Humans and Animals , WHO/CDS/EPR/ 2006–7 Geneva: World Health Organization;
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Corbel M. J., Banai M. 2005; Genus I. Brucella Meyer and Shaw 1920, 173AL. In Bergey′s Manual of Systematic Bacteriology vol. 2 pp 370–386 Edited by Brenner D. J., Krieg N. R., Staley J. T., Garrity G. M. New York: Springer;
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Elberg S.S. 1981 A Guide to the Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention of Human Brucellosis , VPH/81.31 Geneva: World Health Organization;
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Kang S. I., Her M., Heo E. J., Nam H. M., Jung S. C., Cho D. 2009; Molecular typing for epidemiological evaluation of Brucella abortus and Brucella canis isolated in Korea. J Microbiol Methods 78:144–149 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Kattar M. M., Jaafar R. F., Araj G. F., Le Fleche P., Matar G. M., Abi Rached R., Khlife S., Vergnaud G. 2008; Evaluation of a multilocus variable number tandem repeat analysis scheme for typing human Brucella isolates in an endemic country. J Clin Microbiol 46:3935–3940 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Lucero N. E., Bolpe E. 1998; Buffered plate antigen test as a screening test for the diagnosis of human brucellosis. J Clin Microbiol 36:1425–1427
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Lucero N. E., Foglia L., Ayala S. M., Gall D., Nielsen K. 1999; Competitive enzyme immunoassay for diagnosis of human brucellosis. J Clin Microbiol 37:3245–3248
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Marianelli C., Graziani C., Santangelo C., Xibilia M. T., Imbriani A., Amato R., Neri D., Cuccia M., Rinnone S. other authors 2007; Molecular epidemiological and antibiotic susceptibility characterization of Brucella isolates from humans in Sicily, Italy. J Clin Microbiol 45:2923–2928 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Mendez Martinez C., Paez Jimenez A., Cortes Blanco M., Salmoral Chamizo E., Mohedano Mohedano E., Plata C., Varo Baena A., Martinez Navarro F. 2003; Brucellosis outbreak due to unpasteurised raw goat cheese in Andalucia (Spain), January – March 2002. Euro Surveill 8:164–168
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Nöckler K., Maves R., Cepeda D., Draeger A., Mayer-Scholl A., Chacaltana J., Castañeda M., Espinosa B., Castillo R. other authors 2009; Molecular epidemiology of Brucella genotypes in patients at a major hospital in Central Peru. J Clin Microbiol 47:3147–3155 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Osterman B., Moriyón I. 2006; International Committee on Systematics of Prokaryotes. Subcommittee on the Taxonomy of Brucella . Minutes of the meeting 17 September 2003; Pamplona, Spain. Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 56:1173–1175 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  24. Pappas G., Akritidis N., Bosilkovsky M., Tsianos E. 2005; Brucellosis. N Engl J Med 352:2325–2336 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Samartino L. E. 2002; Brucellosis in Argentina. Vet Microbiol 90:71–80 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  26. SENASA 2006; Se autoriza la importación, producción y el uso de la vacuna Rev. 1, en las condiciones que determinen la Dirección Nacional de Sanidad Animal y la Dirección de Laboratorios y Control Técnico. Resolución 216/2006. Buenos Aires: Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria http://www.senasa.gov.ar/contenido.php?to=n&in=1029&io=4627
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Smits H. L., Espinosa B., Castillo R., Hall E., Guillen A., Zevaleta M., Gilman R. H., Melendez P., Guerra C. other authors 2009; MLVA genotyping of human Brucella isolates from Peru. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 103:399–402 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Troy S. B., Rickman L. S., Davis C. E. 2005; Brucellosis in San Diego: epidemiology and species related differences in acute clinical presentations. Medicine 84:174–187 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Valdezate S., Cervera I., Hernandez P., Navarro A., Saez Nieto J. A. 2007; Characterization of human outbreaks of brucellosis and sporadic cases by the use of hyper-variable octameric oligonucleotide fingerprint (HOOF) variable number tandem repeats. Clin Microbiol Infect 13:887–892 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Whatmore A. M. 2009; Current understanding of the genetic diversity of Brucella , an expanding genus of zoonotic pathogens. Infect Genet Evol 9:1168–1184 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Whatmore A. M., Shankster S., Perret L. L., Murphy T. J., Brew S. D., Thirlwall R. E., Cutler S. J., Macmillan A. P. 2006; Identification and characterization of variable number tandem repeat markers for typing of Brucella spp. J Clin Microbiol 44:1982–1993 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Yagupsky P., Baron E. J. 2005; Laboratory exposure to brucellae and implications for bioterrorism. Emerg Infect Dis 11:1180–1185 [CrossRef]
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.017525-0
Loading
/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.017525-0
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error