How To Spot Brucellosis

Coughing

Coughing can be a symptom of brucellosis caused by respiratory involvement or due to inflammation of tissues close to the patient's lungs or diaphragm. Although brucellosis can be spread through inhalation, the involvement of an individual's respiratory system is rare. The most common manifestations that occur in the respiratory tract of a brucellosis patient known to produce coughing include lung abscess, pleural effusion, solitary nodules, paratracheal lymphadenopathy, bronchopneumonia, empyema, granulomas, and hilar lymphadenopathy. Other mechanisms that can cause a cough to develop due to brucellosis are usually associated with the pressure swollen and inflamed upper abdominal organs place on the diaphragm and lungs. A cough also has the potential to develop in an individual who has brucellosis-precipitated endocarditis that has resulted in reduced heart function.

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Spondylitis

Spondylitis is a group of conditions characterized by inflammatory arthritis that primarily affects the spine and large joints. When spondylitis is associated with brucellosis, it may be the presenting symptom even though it generally manifests several weeks after the original infection. The most common part of the spine to be affected by brucellosis-precipitated spondylitis is the lumbar region, but any part of the spine can be affected. Symptoms indicative of spondylitis in an individual infected by brucellosis include severe pain in the lower back, headaches, joint pain, recurrent fever, and muscle pain. This type of arthritis that develops due to brucellosis causes the destruction of a patient's vertebrae and the adjacent intervertebral disks. This manifestation of brucellosis can be treated with the use of joint immobilization and antibiotics.