title: Brucella melitensis in blood cultures of two newborns due to exchange transfusion.
abstract: Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection, transmitted to humans primarily by consumption of unpasteurized milk and milk products. Transmission by blood transfusion is possible but very unusual. Herewith we present two newborns with positive blood cultures for Brucella melitensis after exchange transfusions. However, the standard tube agglutination titers against Brucella were not elevated and the newborns did not develop brucellosis. It is suggested that, in areas endemic for brucellosis, blood donors should be questioned about symptoms of brucellosis, and if suspected, serological tests for brucellosis should be indicated before blood transfusion. At the same time, the prevalence of the disease among animals should be reduced with effective animal disease control programs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neonatology, Erciyes University Faculty of Medicine, Kayseri, Turkey.
authors.forename: Mustafa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Akçakuş
authors.forename: Duygu
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Esel
authors.forename: Neşide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Cetin
authors.forename: Ayşenur Paç
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Kisaarslan
authors.forename: Selim
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kurtoğlu
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001782:Blood Donors; D017347:Brucella melitensis / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007565:Jaundice / Q000628:therapy; D008297:Male; D065227:Transfusion Reaction