Heineman H S, Dziamski I M
Am J Epidemiol. 1976 Jan;103(1):88-100. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a112209.
Examination of hospital and public health records revealed 19 cases of brucellosis diagnosed in Philadelphia between 1968 and 1972. A serologic survey at Philadelphia's largest hog-processing plant, however, indicated infection in 39% of workers. If extrapolated industry-wide, the total would be several hundred in Philadelphia. The infection is usually unrecognized or asymptomatic, since men were active in physically demanding jobs with agglutinin titers in excess of 1:5000. Overt illness, usually first diagnosed after weeks of incapacity, responded readily to tetracycline therapy. Although clinical manifestations are nonspecific, attention to occupational history should quickly lead to the diagnosis. It is emphasized that any hog-processing plant, wherever located, is potentially a reservoir of brucellosis. Prolonged morbidity and loss of production time might be avoided if physicians were more alert to this infection. Agglutinins in possibly significant titers were also found in a small fraction of persons without identifiable exposure.
对医院和公共卫生记录的检查发现，1968年至1972年间费城确诊了19例布鲁氏菌病病例。然而，在费城最大的生猪加工厂进行的一项血清学调查显示，39%的工人受到感染。如果将这一比例推算至整个行业，费城的感染总数将达数百人。这种感染通常未被察觉或无症状，因为从事体力要求较高工作的男性凝集素滴度超过1:5000。明显的疾病通常在丧失工作能力数周后才首次被诊断出来，对四环素治疗反应良好。尽管临床表现不具特异性，但关注职业史应能迅速做出诊断。需要强调的是，任何生猪加工厂，无论位于何处，都可能是布鲁氏菌病的传染源。如果医生对这种感染更加警惕，可能会避免长期发病和生产时间的损失。在一小部分无明确接触史的人中也发现了可能具有显著滴度的凝集素。
