Brucellosis, the top neglected zoonotic disease in fighting Antibiotic Resistance

The Brucella species of gram-negative bacteria has an interesting past. The infection caused by Brucella – Brucellosis – is one of the most widespread zoonotic diseases and has been around for centuries. Brucella was even found in a 700-year-old skeleton from Italy! The discovery that Brucella can be carried and transmitted through healthy goats is considered one of the “greatest advancements ever made in the study of epidemiology.” This medical milestone revolutionized how the world understood diseases transmitted through animals and helped save British troops from getting infected.

Eating raw or unpasteurized dairy products is the most common way to get Brucellosis from animals. It can also be spread through the air. Touching the body fluids of an infected animal can also transmit the infection to humans.

Brucellosis, the infection caused by the Brucella bacteria, causes fever, chills, fatigue, sweats, joint pain, and headaches. The mortality rate is low. The incubation period is, on average, 2 – 4 weeks. It is essential to keep an eye out for recurrence because Brucellosis symptoms can vanish and return after a few weeks or months. In animals, Brucella can cause reproductive issues leading to abortions. As a result, there is an economic loss for farmers and cattle herds, who may have to cull many infected animals. They are also at risk of getting infected if proper safety protocols for handling animals are not followed.

The Latest Research On Brucella in Greece
Katsiolis et al. 2021 published about detecting Brucellosis in ruminant herds in Greece. The researchers emphasize the economic significance of their study apart from health concerns. Brucellosis can cause reproductive issues in animals and abortions in herds. Along with other European countries, Greece also applied control and eradication programs for sheep, goats, and cows. Since current laboratory Brucella detection methods have several challenges, the study proposes a new diagnostic tool for better reliability in detecting Brucella from samples.



Diarrhoea in cats – Intestinal parasites are common cause

Diarrhoea in cats can have several causes, with infections from single-cell intestinal parasites being a common explanation. Researchers from the Vetmeduni Vienna, studied nearly 300 cats in order to assess the presence and prevalence of parasitic species in Austria. The most common causative agents were Giardia. One species of Giardia that was found may also be transmissible to humans.



A research study from the Institute for Parasitology at the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna, screened 298 faecal samples taken from cats across Austria for single-cell intestinal parasites, so called enteric protozoa. The samples came from private households, catteries, and animal shelters. Of the 298 cats sampled, 56 tested positive for at least one intestinal parasite. The results of the study were published in the journal Parasitology Research. (Hinney, B., Ederer, C., Stengl, C. et al. Enteric protozoa of cats and their zoonotic potential—a field study from Austria. Parasitol Res 114, 2003–2006 (2015).



Multi-cat households often affected

A significantly higher rate of positive samples was registered in households with more than one cat. Households with kittens are also more at risk. Young animals must first come to terms with the pathogen and are not yet immune, which makes it possible for the pathogen to persist more stubbornly. When the animals excrete the parasite via feces, they infect other cats. This gives households with more than one cat a higher risk of infection.