Chapter 18 - Childhood brucellosis

Abstract

The mode of infection in children in endemic areas depends mainly on the tradition of animal husbandry and traditional food habits. Brucellosis carries an important epidemiological significance when it affects children as it indicates that the disease is much more widespread and endemic in that area. When the disease is found in a child, most probably other members of the family will be found to have the disease on family screening. In countries where brucellosis has been controlled or eradicated, the disease may be contracted as an occupational risk and is rarely reported in children. In endemic countries, the disease is not necessarily an occupational one and children are at a similar risk of contracting brucellosis as adults. The clinical history may not be clearly given by the parents and the child may be crying, so it becomes difficult to obtain a clear clinical picture. Childhood brucellosis is more frequently diagnosed in children living in endemic areas as the clinicians are more aware of the disease, and diagnosis is frequently achieved at an early stage. However, several reports have indicated that childhood brucellosis was initially misdiagnosed as something else. All the four Brucella species that affect humans have been reported to cause childhood brucellosis, but by far the commonest is Brucella melitensis, particularly in endemic areas.