Brucellosis in a group of travelers to Spain
P. M. Arnow, M. Smaron and V. Ormiste
An epidemiologic investigation, initiated when Brucella melitensis
infection was detected in a high school student, identified five
unrecognized cases in classmates. Before the investigation, four infected
students had symptoms of brucellosis for one to ten weeks, made nine visits
to physicians, and were confined to the school infirmary or hospitals for
27 days. The other two students were asymptomatic when Brucella
agglutination testing demonstrated elevated titers, and treatment was
quickly instituted when symptoms occurred. Travel to Spain was implicated
because cases were clustered in six of 27 travelers compared with none of
23 control students. Food-history questionnaires showed more frequent
consumption of cheese by infected than noninfected travelers. This cluster
of cases demonstrates the risk of brucellosis in travelers to endemic areas
and illustrates the value of an epidemiologic investigation of cases.
