title: Implications of laboratory diagnosis on brucellosis therapy.
abstract: Brucellosis is a worldwide zoonosis with a huge economic impact on animal husbandry and public health. The diagnosis of human brucellosis can be protracted because the disease primarily presents as fever of unknown origin with unspecific clinical signs and symptoms. The isolation rate of the fastidious etiologic agent from blood cultures is low, and therefore laboratory diagnosis is mainly based on serologic and molecular testing. However, seronegative brucellosis patients have been described, and antibody titers of diagnostic significance are difficult to define. Whether the molecular detection of Brucella DNA in clinical samples should be followed by long-term antibiotic treatment or not is also a matter of debate. The aim of this article is to review and discuss the implications of laboratory test results in the diagnosis of human brucellosis on disease therapy.
authors.affiliation: Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, Hygiene and Microbiology, Diedersdorfer Weg 1, D-12277 Berlin, Germany. sascha.al-dahouk@gmx.de
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Dahouk
authors.forename: Karsten
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nöckler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D015373:Bacterial Typing Techniques; D002002:Brucella / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000276:immunology / Q000628:therapy* / Q000635:transmission; D002417:Cattle; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000635:transmission; D004269:DNA, Bacterial / Q000097:blood*; D004318:Doxycycline / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004797:Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay; D006801:Humans; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012293:Rifampin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use; D012698:Serologic Tests; D013307:Streptomycin / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D000907:Antibodies, Bacterial; D004269:DNA, Bacterial; D004338:Drug Combinations; D004318:Doxycycline; D012293:Rifampin; D013307:Streptomycin