What is stressed in this message is to be re-emphasized, namely experienced
problems of getting even medical surroundings to understand which are the
difficulties to comprehend the whole concept of brucellosis.
I myself did suffer from brucellosis ten years ago, this was the result of
my examination of a sample of cerobrospinal fluid from a patient with what
was proved to be a brucellar meningitis (there was no pre-exam suspicion).
Three months later I did pass through the first episode of brucellosis
(blood-culture proved Brucella melitensis). During convalescens after this
episode, three months after leaving hospital, I fell sick again, the same
story but more low-graded. The dominant feature of this episode was an
extreme back-ache (acutely I fell down on the floor). The diagnosis showed
to be brucellar lumbo-sacral disco-spondylitis with an intraspinal abscess.
I am telling this because of the, at time being, demonstrated apparent
problems of the surrounding medical colleagues to grasp the whole situation
of this second brucellar episode. A MD myself, I was told that I suffered
from a back-ache, originating from a X-ray demonstrated spondylolisthesis
in the lumbar region in combination with weakness during convalescens and a
perhaps prolapsed nucleus pulposus (operation for this was even planned!).
The correct diagnosis was evidenced by a somewhat delayed (which is natural
under the circumstances) rise of the Brucella-titers to very high levels.
There had been interpretation problems concerning X-ray, MNR and so on.
- The spondylolisthesis was presumably a locus minoris resistensi for the
Brucella infection.
Brucella infection is predominantly characterized by its intracellular
location, and the infection has a tendency of both being generalized and
localized. This "brucellar way of infection" naturally creates problems of
diagnosis; especially, of course, in geographic regions where brucellosis
is a seldom ocurring infectious disease.
Regards, Bj|rn Osterman, MD
Stockholm, Sweden
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: brucellosis symptoms
Author: PC {ziprin at usda.tamu.edu}
Date: 1995-06-12 17.16
There is a brucellosis lab at Texas A&M U and I know that
one of the guys there had brucellosis. He had a hell of a
time convincing the docs that is what was wrong.
I think the man's name is Gary Adams but I'm not sure.
all the Vet School Micro Dept office at 409-845-5941.
Ask for the Brucellosis lab.
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