An unusual case of brucellosis in Japan: difficulties in the differential diagnosis from pulmonary tuberculosis.
Human brucellosis is an imported zoonosis extremely uncommon in Japan. Brucellosis was found in a 38-year-old surgeon who had never been abroad; he developed intrapulmonary infiltrates and pleural thickening indistinguishable from pulmonary tuberculosis. Despite extensive antibiotic therapy for tuberculosis he developed systemic serositis. A culture of resected lung tissues grew CO2-required coccobacilli. Polymerase chain reaction test using a specific primer pair for Brucella abortus revealed that the isolated pathogen is highly homologous to B. abortus. We emphasize that undetermined cases of human brucellosis may be present in Japan.
Takahashi
H
H
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Sapporo Medical University School of Medicine.
Tanaka
S
S
Yoshida
K
K
Hoshino
H
H
Sasaki
H
H
Takahashi
K
K
Kimura
K
K
Fujii
N
N
Kimura
H
H
Mori
M
M
Abe
S
S
D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D002003:Brucella abortus / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000235:genetics; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000382:microbiology; D008297:Male; D014397:Tuberculosis, Pulmonary / Q000175:diagnosis*
D004269:DNA, Bacterial