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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffTo reduce the risk of getting brucellosis, take these precautions:
- Avoid unpasteurized dairy foods. In recent years in the United States, few cases of brucellosis have been linked to raw dairy products from domestic herds. Still, it's probably best to avoid unpasteurized milk, cheese and ice cream, no matter what their origin. Travelers to other countries should avoid all raw dairy foods. If you're not sure whether a product is pasteurized, don't take chances.
- Cook meat thoroughly. All meat should be cooked until it reaches an internal temperature of 145 to 165 F (63 to 74 C). When eating out, order beef and pork at least medium-well. It's unlikely that domestic meat in the United States contains brucella bacteria, but proper cooking destroys other harmful bacteria such as salmonella and E. coli. When traveling abroad, avoid buying meat from street vendors and order all meat well-done.
- Wear gloves. Veterinarians, farmers, hunters and slaughterhouse workers should wear rubber gloves when handling sick or dead animals or animal tissue or when assisting an animal giving birth.
- Take safety precautions in high-risk workplaces. Laboratory workers should handle all specimens under appropriate biosafety conditions. Workers who have been exposed should be treated promptly. Slaughterhouses should also follow protective measures, such as separation of the killing floor from other processing areas and use of protective clothing.
- Immunize domestic animals. In the United States, an aggressive vaccination program has nearly eliminated brucellosis in livestock herds. Milk is tested two to four times a year for signs of the bacteria. Because the brucellosis vaccine is live, it can cause disease in people. Anyone who has an accidental needle stick while vaccinating an animal should be treated.
References
- Brucellosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/Brucellosis_g.htm. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Everett ED. Microbiology, epidemiology, and pathogenesis of Brucella. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 17, 2008.
- Everett ED. Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment of brucellosis in adults. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 17, 2008.
- Franco MP, et al. Human brucellosis. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2007;7:775.
- Purwar S. Human brucellosis: A burden of a half-million cases per year. Southern Medical Journal. 2007;100:1074.
- Brucellosis. New York State Department of Health. http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/brucellosis/fact_sheet.htm. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Brucellosis. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases: Division of Bacterial Diseases. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dbmd/diseaseinfo/Brcellosis_t.htm. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Pappas G. Treatment of brucellosis: Regimens containing aminoglycosides are most effective but difficult to implement in practice. BMJ. 2008;336:678.
- Hashmi S, et al. Rare red rash. American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121:862.
- Skalsky K, et al. Treatment of human brucellosis: Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. BMJ. In press. Accessed Nov. 16, 2008.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Laboratory-acquired brucellosis - Indiana and Minnesota, 2006. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2008;57:39Hashmi S, et al. Rare red rash. American Journal of Medicine. 2008;121:862.
- Everett ED. Brucellosis in children. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index.html. Accessed Nov. 17, 2008.
- Donch DA, et al. Status report - fiscal year 2007, Cooperative State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program. USDA, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. http://www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/animal_diseases/brucellosis/downloads/yearly_rpt.pdf. Accessed Nov. 19, 2008.
- Vaccine use following brucellosis and pseudorabies eradication. Center for Veterinary Biologics. www.aphis.usda.gov/animal_health/vet_biologics/publications/USAHA_CVB_2007_Handouts.pdf. Accessed Nov. 19, 2008.
