Drab Dillon A, Javed Madeeha, Desai Shivani, Ly Colin, Abdullah Farhan
Internal Medicine, Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Dallas, USA.
Cureus. 2025 May 22;17(5):e84631. doi: 10.7759/cureus.84631. eCollection 2025 May.
This case report describes a rare instance of brucellosis with hepatic involvement in a 58-year-old female who contracted the infection after ingesting contaminated dairy products from Mexico. Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by gram-negative coccobacilli of the genus Brucella. The disease is relatively uncommon in the United States due to strict animal health policies; however, it remains a major public health concern in many other countries. Brucellosis typically presents with non-specific symptoms but can rapidly progress to multi-organ involvement. Clinicians should consider brucellosis in patients with non-specific symptoms, particularly those with a history of consuming potentially contaminated products. Diagnosis is typically based on cultures or serology and is subsequently treated with appropriate antibiotic therapy. Here, we present a case of brucellosis that was initially misdiagnosed due to the nonspecific nature of the presenting symptoms, which ultimately led to significant liver involvement. Culture data later confirmed Brucella, and the patient was started on a combination of doxycycline and gentamicin therapy, resulting in the resolution of the disease. This case emphasizes the need for public education on food safety and highlights the risks associated with consuming contaminated products brought into the U.S. from abroad.
本病例报告描述了一名58岁女性患布鲁氏菌病并累及肝脏的罕见病例，该女性因食用来自墨西哥的受污染乳制品而感染。布鲁氏菌病是由布鲁氏菌属革兰氏阴性球杆菌引起的人畜共患感染。由于严格的动物健康政策，该病在美国相对不常见；然而，在许多其他国家，它仍然是一个主要的公共卫生问题。布鲁氏菌病通常表现为非特异性症状，但可迅速发展为多器官受累。临床医生应考虑在出现非特异性症状的患者中诊断布鲁氏菌病，尤其是那些有食用潜在受污染产品病史的患者。诊断通常基于培养或血清学检查，随后用适当的抗生素治疗。在此，我们报告一例布鲁氏菌病病例，该病例最初因症状的非特异性而被误诊，最终导致严重的肝脏受累。后来的培养数据证实为布鲁氏菌，患者开始接受强力霉素和庆大霉素联合治疗，疾病得以治愈。本病例强调了食品安全公众教育的必要性，并突出了食用从国外带入美国的受污染产品所带来的风险。
