Brucellosis Epidemiology and Clinical Management

Brucellosis is a globally significant zoonotic infection caused by bacteria of the genus Brucella, chiefly B. melitensis, B. abortus and B. suis. Transmission occurs via direct contact with infected animals or their products, notably unpasteurised dairy, and leads to a spectrum of disease from acute febrile illness to chronic multisystem complications. The epidemiology remains dynamic: while control efforts have eradicated brucellosis in many high-income countries through animal vaccination, test-and-slaughter programmes and pasteurisation policies, the disease persists or resurges in regions of East Africa, Central Asia and the Mediterranean where livestock farming underpins livelihoods. Clinical management blends prolonged combination antibiotic regimens to reduce relapse risk, diagnostic challenges arising from non-specific presentations and the need for coordinated veterinary and public health strategies within a One Health framework. Enhanced surveillance, rapid molecular diagnostics and tailored control measures in animal reservoirs are pivotal to reducing human incidence and sustaining eradication gains.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have reconstructed an exceptionally well-preserved Brucella melitensis genome from an 8,000-year-old sheep specimen, providing direct evidence of the pathogen’s circulation in Neolithic pastoral societies. This palaeogenomic work has calibrated the divergence of B. melitensis from other Brucella lineages to approximately 9,800 years before present and mapped key gene disruptions linked to host adaptation, particularly erythritol metabolism associated with placental tropism. Such evolutionary insights refine our understanding of how early livestock management and multi-species husbandry shaped Brucella speciation and inform modern control by highlighting ancestral determinants of host specificity and virulence.

Brucellosis Epidemiology and Clinical Management publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in brucellosis epidemiology and clinical management across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Zoonosis: An infectious disease transmissible between animals and humans.

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS): A high-resolution method that determines the complete DNA sequence of an organism’s genome.

Lineage: A group of pathogen strains sharing a common evolutionary origin.

One Health: An integrated approach recognising the interdependence of human, animal and environmental health.

Seroprevalence: The proportion of individuals in a population who test positive for specific antibodies, indicating previous exposure to an infection.

References

1. An 8000 years old genome reveals the Neolithic origin of the zoonosis Brucella melitensis. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Genomic analysis of Brucella isolates from animals and humans, Türkiye, 2010 to 2020. Eurosurveillance (2024).
3. Long ignored but making a comeback: a worldwide epidemiological evolution of human brucellosis. Emerging Microbes & Infections (2024).