Common Causes
Related Conditions
What is undulant fever caused by?
Undulant fever: An infectious disease due to the bacteria Brucella that characteristically causes rising and falling fevers, sweats, malaise, weakness, anorexia, headache, myalgia (muscle pain) and back pain.
For what diseases can be undulant fever?
Brucellosis, also called Bang's disease, Crimean fever, Gibraltar fever, Malta fever, Maltese fever, Mediterranean fever, rock fever, or undulant fever, is a highly-contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unsterilized milk or meat from infected animals or close contact with their secretions.
What is the meaning of undulant fever?
Definition of undulant fever : a persistent human brucellosis marked especially by remittent fever, weakness, headache, chills, and weight loss and contracted by contact with infected domestic animals or consumption of their products.
How do you test for undulant fever?
A positive blood culture is diagnostic of undulant fever but there are certain difficulties which have not been overcome by the average laboratory in obtaining growth of the organism, so that at the present time only a small percentage of cases are diagnosed by this method.
What is another name for undulant fever?
Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella species. It is known by many other names, including remitting fever, undulant fever, Mediterranean fever, Maltese fever, Gibraltar fever, Crimean fever, goat fever, and Bang disease.
How do humans get brucellosis?
How do people get brucellosis? The most common way that people get the disease is by drinking or eating unpasteurized, contaminated milk or cheese. You can also get it by breathing in the bacteria.
What is the meaning of undulant?
Definition of undulant 1 : rising and falling in waves. 2 : having a wavy form, outline, or surface played her approach shot onto the undulant green.
What does it mean when fever comes and goes?
Recurrent fevers keep happening and coming back over time. A classic fever is also usually linked to an infection or virus. With a recurrent fever, you may have a higher body temperature without any virus or bacterial infection.
Is Malta fever curable?
The rate of relapse following treatment is about 5-15% and usually occurs within the first six months after treatment. Recovery can take weeks, even months. Patients who receive treatment within one month of the start of symptoms can be cured of the disease.
Where is brucellosis most common?
While brucellosis is rare in the United States, it is more common in other parts of the world, especially:Southern Europe, including Portugal, Spain, Turkey, Italy, Greece, Southern France.Eastern Europe.Mexico, South and Central America.Asia.Africa.The Caribbean.The Middle East.
What are the symptoms of brucellosis in humans?
Signs and Symptomsfever.sweats.malaise.anorexia.headache.pain in muscles, joint, and/or back.fatigue.
Can brucellosis come back years later?
This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. To the Editor: Approximately 10% of patients with brucellosis experience a relapse, 90% of which occur within a year after discontinuation of antimicrobial drug therapy (1,2).
Why does fever increase and decrease?
A part of your brain called the hypothalamus controls your body temperature. In response to an infection, illness, or some other cause, the hypothalamus may reset the body to a higher temperature. So when a fever comes on, it's a sign that something is going on in your body.
What are the types of fever?
Fever, or pyrexia, is when the internal body temperature rises to levels that are considered above normal....Range.Temperature°F°CMid- to low-grade fever100.5-102.238.1-39Moderate-grade fever102.2-104.039.1-40High-grade fever104.1-106.040.1-41.1Hyperpyrexiaover 106.0over 41.1Dec 5, 2017
What does it mean when fever comes and goes?
Recurrent fevers keep happening and coming back over time. A classic fever is also usually linked to an infection or virus. With a recurrent fever, you may have a higher body temperature without any virus or bacterial infection.
What is fever of unknown origin?
Fever of unknown origin (FUO) in adults is defined as a temperature higher than 38.3 C (100.9 F) that lasts for more than three weeks with no obvious source despite appropriate investigation.
Why is undulant fever called undulant fever?
The disease is called undulant fever because the fever is typically undulant, rising and falling like a wave.
How to prevent undulant fever?
Undulant fever can be prevented in people by controlling, or better, eliminating the disease in animals and avoiding consumption of raw milk and raw milk products. Proper heat treatment of milk or milk products is important for effective prevention of brucellosis in humans.
What are the long term consequences of undulant fever?
The sequelae (long-term consequences) of undulant fever (brucellosis) are also very variable. They may include granulomatous hepatitis, arthritis, spondylitis, anemia, leukopenia (low white blood cells), thrombocytopenia (low platelets), meningitis, uveitis (inflammation of the uvea of the eye), optic neuritis (inflammation of the nerve to the retina of the eye), and endocarditis (inflammation of the lining of the heart, heart valves and great blood vessels).
How long does a brucellosis fever last?
Undulant fever (brucellosis) is an extremely variable disease. In the acute form (less than 8 weeks from the onset of illness), the features are nonspecific and " flu-like .".
How long does it take for brucellosis to spread?
The incubation period of brucellosis is usually one to three weeks, but sometimes may be several months after exposure.
What are the symptoms of urogenital disease?
The symptoms are like those with many other febrile diseases, but with a marked effect on the musculoskeletal system evidenced by generalized aches and pains and associated with fatigue, prostration and mental depression. Urogenital symptoms may dominate the clinical presentation in some patients. The duration of the disease can vary from a few weeks to many months.
How is a pig's disease transmitted?
The disease is transmitted through contaminated and untreated milk and milk products and by direct contact with infected animals (cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, camels, buffaloes, wild ruminants and, very recently, seals), and animal carcasses. Transmission can be through abrasions of the skin from handling infected animals.
What is Brucellosis caused by?
About This Disease. Brucellosis is a disease caused by Brucella bacteria, which are mainly spread among animals. Brucella is categorized as a possible bioterrorist weapon. Microscopic image of Brucellosis.
How to prevent a fetus from getting infected?
Do not drink unpasteurized milk or consume dairy products made from raw milk. Avoid contact with tissues, blood, urine, and aborted fetuses from infected animals. Persons with immune system have the highest risk for infection.
How do you get Brucella?
Transmission can occur through: 1 Contact with animals or animal products contaminated with Brucella bacteria 2 Eating or drinking contaminated product 3 Inhalation of organism 4 Brucella entering skin by wounds, but not person to person
Is Brucellosis a communicable disease?
Brucellosis is a reportable disease Hawaii Administrative Rules Title 11 Chapter 156, Communicable Diseases, under the Urgent category which requires a report by telephone to the Disease Outbreak Control Division on Oahu or to the District Health Offices on the neighbor islands as soon as a provisional diagnosis has been established.
What is the name of the disease that is caused by a goat?
Brucellosis. Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease that is also called Gibraltar or rock fever, Bang's disease, Mediterranean fever, Maltese or Malta fever, undulant fever or Cyprus fever. Three main types come from goats, cattle and sheep. You can be infected in a few different ways, such as inhaling bacteria.
What are the causes of brucellosis?
Consuming undercooked meat. Consuming raw dairy items. Inhaling bacteria which cause brucellosis. Touching infected animals. These are mostly animals that we associate with farming, such as sheep, cows, goats, and pigs. However, dogs can also be carriers, as can wild animals such as elk.
What is the disease that animals can transmit to humans?
Bacterial infections cause brucellosis. It is an infectious disease which animals can transmit to people through close contact. These animals include cows, sheep, goats, pigs, and dogs. The bacteria can also be contained in animal products, such as dairy. Thus, people become infected by consuming these products.
Where is brucellosis found?
Brucellosis is found all over the globe. However, those places with poor public health and poor domestic animal health programs are at a higher risk. For example, Africa, Asia, and Eastern Europe are more at risk for brucellosis.
What is Malta fever?
This complex is, at least in Portugal, Israel, Syria, and Jordan, known as Malta fever. During episodes of Malta fever, melitococcemia (presence of brucellae in the blood) can usually be demonstrated by means of blood culture in tryptose medium or Albini medium. If untreated, the disease can give origin to focalizations or become chronic. The focalizations of brucellosis occur usually in bones and joints, and osteomyelitis or spondylodiscitis of the lumbar spine accompanied by sacroiliitis is very characteristic of this disease. Orchitis is also common in men.
What is the cause of brucellosis in humans?
Brucellosis in humans is usually associated with consumption of unpasteurized milk and soft cheeses made from the milk of infected animals —primarily goats, infected with B. melitensis and with occupational exposure of laboratory workers, veterinarians, and slaughterhouse workers. Some vaccines used in livestock, most notably B. abortus strain 19, also cause disease in humans if accidentally injected. Brucellosis induces inconstant fevers, miscarriage, sweating, weakness, anemia, headaches, depression, and muscular and bodily pain. The other strains, B. suis and B. canis, cause infection in pigs and dogs, respectively.
How to prevent brucellosis in hunting dogs?
Exposure can occur through contact with open wounds or by directly inhaling the bacteria while cleaning game. In some cases, consumption of undercooked game can result in exposure to the disease. Hunters can limit exposure while cleaning game through the use of precautionary barriers, including gloves and masks, and by washing tools rigorously after use. By ensuring that game is cooked thoroughly , hunters can protect themselves and others from ingesting the disease. Hunters should refer to local game officials and health departments to determine the risk of brucellosis exposure in their immediate area and to learn more about actions to reduce or avoid exposure.
What are the symptoms of brucellosis?
Symptoms. coughing. Brucellosis is a highly contagious zoonosis caused by ingestion of unpasteurized milk or undercooked meat from infected animals, or close contact with their secretions. It is also known as undulant fever, Malta fever, and Mediterranean fever.
When did the first state-federal cooperative efforts towards eradication of brucellosis begin?
The first state–federal cooperative efforts towards eradication of brucellosis caused by B. abortus in the U.S. began in 1934.
What animals are affected by brucellosis?
The disease in its various strains can infect multiple wildlife species, including elk ( Cervus canadensis ), bison ( Bison bison ), African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ), European wild boar ( Sus scrofa ), caribou ( Rangifer tarandus ), moose ( Alces alces ), and marine mammals (see section on aquatic wildlife above). While some regions use vaccines to prevent the spread of brucellosis between infected and uninfected wildlife populations, no suitable brucellosis vaccine for terrestrial wildlife has been developed. This gap in medicinal knowledge creates more pressure for management practices that reduce spread of the disease.
How to prevent brucellosis?
The main way of preventing brucellosis is by using fastidious hygiene in producing raw milk products, or by pasteurizing all milk that is to be ingested by human beings, either in its unaltered form or as a derivative, such as cheese.
How long does undulant fever last?
As the illness advances, headaches, chills, diaphoresis, and muscle aches and pains appear. It is possible for these symptoms to persist for years, either intermittently or continuously, although most patients recover completely within 2 to 6 months. Diagnosis is confirmed by blood cultures or serologic agglutination tests.
What is the name of the disease that causes fever, malaise, and headaches?
brucellosis. a generalized infection involving primarily the reticuloendothelial system, marked by remittent fluctuating fever, malaise, and headache. It is caused by various species of Brucella and is transmitted to humans from domestic animals such as pigs, goats, and cattle, especially through infected milk or contact with the carcass ...
What is the infection caused by Brucella spp?
A highly contagiously infection by Brucella spp, primarily B abortus (less commonly, B melintensis and B suis), caused by skin contact with infected cattle, goats and sheep or consumption of contaminated milk or meat.
What is the name of the disease caused by Brucella?
brucellosis - an infectious disease caused by Brucella, and transmitted by direct contact with diseased animals or through ingestion of infected meat, milk, or cheese. Synonym (s): febris undulans; Malta fever; Mediterranean fever; undulant fever
How is Brucella transmitted?
An infectious disease caused by Brucella, characterized byfever, sweating, weakness, and aching, and transmitted to humans by direct contact with diseased animals or through ingestion of infected meat or milk.
What is an intermittent fever?
f) Relapsing fever. Intermittent fever is a type or pattern of fever in which there is an interval where temperature is elevated for several hours followed by an interval when temperature drops back to normal. This type of fever usually occurs during the course of an infectious disease.
What tests are used to diagnose intermittent fever?
Diagnosis of intermittent fever is frequently based on the clinical history but some biological tests like complete blood count and blood culture are also used. In addition radiological investigations like chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasonography can also be used in establishing diagnosis.
What is Still's disease?
Adult-onset Still's disease is an inflammatory disease that may cause intermittent fever, characteristically a quotidian fever that spikes once or twice in the late afternoon to evening.
How does brucellosis spread?
Sometimes, the bacteria that cause brucellosis can spread through the air or through direct contact with infected animals.
What causes brucellosis in the heart?
Untreated endocarditis can damage or destroy the heart valves and is the leading cause of brucellosis-related deaths. Arthritis. Joint infection is marked by pain, stiffness and swelling in your joints, especially the knees, hips, ankles, wrists and spine.
What is the infection of the testicles?
Inflammation and infection of the testicles (epididymo-orchitis). The bacteria that cause brucellosis can infect the epididymis, the coiled tube that connects the vas deferens and the testicle. From there, the infection may spread to the testicle itself, causing swelling and pain, which may be severe.
What are the complications of brucellosis?
Chronic brucellosis may cause complications in just one organ or throughout your body. Possible complications include: Infection of the heart's inner lining (endocarditis).
What animals are affected by brucellosis?
A form of brucellosis also affects harbor seals, porpoises and certain whales.
Where is brucellosis most common?
Eastern Europe. Mexico, South and Central America. Asia.
Can you get brucellosis from raw milk?
To reduce the risk of getting brucellosis, take these precautions: Avoid unpasteurized dairy foods. In recent years in the United States, few cases of brucellosis have been linked to raw dairy products from domestic herds. Still, it's best to avoid unpasteurized milk, cheese and ice cream, no matter what their origin.
