Brucellosis, Unravelling an Enigma: Eight Years of Experience from a Tertiary Care Hospital in Central Kerala, India

Abstract

Introduction: Various emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases have made the existence of mankind in this world a great challenge. In the midst of these havocs, some important diseases has undermined in the dark. Brucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease in most of the developing world and it has far-reaching and deleterious effects on humans and animals alike. In humans, brucellosis shows a variety of non-specific clinical signs. To recognise and diagnose this neglected but debilitating disease, the awareness and alertness of medical personnel has to be enhanced. Aim: To determine the prevalence of brucellosis in Tertiary Care Hospital. Materials and Methods: A retrospective study was conducted from June 2011 to May 2019, all culture proven cases of human brucellosis admitted in a Tertiary Care Hospital in central Kerala, India were reviewed. Demographic data, clinical presentations, laboratory parameters, treatment and outcomes of the same were analysed in Microsoft excel sheets as percentages. Results: Of the 12 culture proven Brucella cases, 11 presented as Pyrexia of Unknown Origin (PUO) cases and one was a soft tissue infection. Eleven patients had history of either consumption of unpasteurised milk products or had contact with animals before the symptoms developed. A 75% cases were imported cases from middle-east countries. In one case the route of entry was by close personal contact probably sexual transmission. All the patients complained of fever and malaise (100%), while low backache and arthralgia was noted in 83%. Most common clinical and laboratory findings associated with brucellosis were hepatosplenomegaly (41.7%) and anaemia (66.6%). Oral doxycycline for six weeks combined with either aminoglycoside or rifampicin was used for treatment. There was no death or relapses noted. Conclusion: This study emphasises the close collaboration of an alert clinician and an experienced microbiologist to correctly diagnose and treat an infection with multiple presentations as brucellosis, in endemic areas also.