Abstract
BackgroundBrucellosis is an endemic disease present in many countries worldwide, but it is rare in Europe and North America. Nevertheless brucella is included in the bacteria potentially used for bioterrorism. The aim of this study was the investigation of the antibiotic susceptibility profile of brucella isolates from areas of the eastern Mediterranean where it has been endemic.MethodsThe susceptibilities of 74 Brucella melitensis isolates derived from clinical samples (57) and animal products (17) were tested in vitro. The strains originate from Crete (59), Cyprus (10), and Syria (5). MICs of tetracycline, rifampicin, streptomycin, gentamicin, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole, ampicillin, amoxicillin/clavulanic acid, and erythromycin were detected by E-test method. The NCCLS criteria for slow growing bacteria were considered to interpret the results.ResultsAll the isolates were susceptible to tetracycline, streptomycin, gentamicin, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin, and levofloxacin. Two isolates presented reduced susceptibility to rifampicin (MIC value: 1.5 mg/l) and eight to SXT (MIC values: 0.75–1.5 mg/l). Erythromycin had the highest (4 mg/l) MIC90value and both norfloxacin and erythromycin the highest (1.5 mg/l) MIC50 value.ConclusionBrucella isolates remain susceptible in vitro to most antibiotics used for treatment of brucellosis. The establishment of a standardized antibiotic susceptibility method for Brucella spp would be useful for resistance determination in these bacteria and possible evaluation of bioterorism risks.
Highlights
Brucellosis is an endemic disease present in many countries worldwide, but it is rare in Europe and North America
Brucella is a pathogen of global dispersal, which affects both humans and animals. This dispersal has exhibited a shift towards the Asian countries; on the contrary there is a significant reduction in brucellosis cases, in countries where brucellosis was endemic in the past such as Spain and Italy [1]
Antibiotic susceptibility testing was performed by the Etest method (AB biodisk) according to the manufacturer's guidelines
Summary
Brucellosis is an endemic disease present in many countries worldwide, but it is rare in Europe and North America. Brucella is a pathogen of global dispersal, which affects both humans and animals This dispersal has exhibited a shift towards the Asian countries; on the contrary there is a significant reduction in brucellosis cases, in countries where brucellosis was endemic in the past such as Spain and Italy [1]. At the moment brucellosis is scarce in Western Europe and North America since effective public health measures have been established, such countries are considering Brucella to be a potential bioter-. In 1986, the WHO has released recommendations for use of doxycycline, combined with either rifampicin or streptomycin for treating human brucellosis.
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