Urban outbreak of a Brucella melitensis infection in an Argentine family: clinical and diagnostic aspects

Abstract

An outbreak of Brucella melitensis in a family was studied. From the fourteen family members who ate unpasteurized goat cheese nine became ill. Patients included four females and five males of 8 to 75 years old. In seven of the patients the diagnosis was confirmed by positive blood culture for B. melitensis biovar 1. All the patients were analyzed by standard tube agglutination (STA) and standard tube agglutination with 2-mercaptoethanol (STA-2ME) tests at the time of diagnosis. In six of the patients, ELISA assays were used to assess the humoral immune anti-protein and anti-lipopolysaccharide (LPS) responses. Anti-LPS IgG antibodies were detected in all of the patients. Anti-proteins IgG antibodies were present at significant levels in all the studied patients including the STA-2ME negative ones.