Author/Authors :
Hashem, Ahmed Murad Cairo University - Department of Internal Medicine, Egypt , Abdel Rahman, Eman Al-Azhar university - Faculty of medicine for girls - Department of Internal Medicine, Egypt , Ayvad, Ragaa AlAzhar university - Faculty of medicine for girls - Department of Microbiology, Egypt , Hassan, Effat AlAzhar university - Faculty of medicine for girls - Department of Microbiology, Egypt , El-Rashidi, Zinab E. AlAzhar university - Faculty of medicine for girls - Department of Microbiology, Egypt , El Sayed, Aml AlAzhar university - Faculty of medicine for girls - Department of Microbiology, Egypt
Abstract :
Background/Aim: Bovine brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of major economic and public health importance in most countries of the world. The aim of the present study was to isolate and identify brucellae in patients presented with fever of unknown origin using conventional and recent methods. Also assay of IL-6 and IL-8 was done to evaluate its role in pathogenesis of the disease. Patients and Methods: The present study was carried out on 125 patients; 25 healthy individuals were included as control subjects. Patients presented with fever of unknown origin. Laboratory diagnosis of brucellosis was done by isolation of brucella by blood culture using two methods biphasic blood culture and lysis centrifugation blood culture. Also detection of specific brucella antibody by standard tube agglutination test (STA) and detection of Brucella DNA by PCR using primer B4/B5 to amplify a 223 bp region within the gene coding for a 31-KD brucella. Detection of IL-6 and IL-8 using ELISA in serum ofpatients was done to evaluate its role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Results: According to the results, out of 125 patients, 35 patients (28%) were Brucella positive. The 35 patients were diagnosed as brucellosis by various diagnostic tests as follow: 15 patients by biphasic blood cidture (42.8 %), 25 patients by tube agglutination (71.4%), and 32 patients by PCR (91.4%). All brucella patients presented with fever (100%), headache (74%) and arthralgia (60%). The Risk factors of brucellosis mostly occupational such as farmer and butcher or consumption of raw milk or milk products, it was found that 85.7% of patients had risk factors; with a highly statistical significant difference between incidences of brucella infection in patient s having risk factors and those without risk factors (P 0.01). Also our result showed the IL-6 and IL-8 was elevated in brucellosis and other febrile illness none specifically. Conclusion. It was found that brucellosis is an important cause of FUO in Cairo, blood culture has low sensitivity, time consuming with high infectivity rate so it is not recommended for routine laboratory diagnostic method for brucellosis and the high advantages of PCR over the conventional methods for the diagnosis of brucellosis.
