Fever, fatigue, not COVID-19, not a cold, it's actually TA!!

Recently, the hospital admitted a patient who presented with poor appetite, fatigue, night sweats and fever. After ruling out COVID-19 infection, the cause of the fever was difficult to pinpoint. Finally, blood culture, high-throughput blood sequencing technology (NGS) and Brucella agglutination test confirmed brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic infectious disease caused by infection with Brucella bacteria and is one of the zoonotic infectious diseases that my country is currently focusing on preventing and controlling. Spring is back, everything is reviving, and spring ploughing is about to begin, which is the season when brucellosis is prevalent. On March 28, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs specifically issued the "Five-Year Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Brucellosis in Animals (2022-2026)", which shows the importance the country attaches to the prevention and control of brucellosis.

So, what are the symptoms of brucellosis? How can it be treated and prevented?

The disease may be acute or slow

Brucellosis can infect a variety of domestic and wild animals, causing miscarriage, infertility, etc. People are mainly infected with the disease due to contact with sick sheep, cattle, pigs and other livestock, as well as the meat, internal organs, fur, etc. of sick animals. Raising and grazing, milking, shearing, fur processing, slaughtering, veterinary medicine, etc. are all dangerous occupations for infection with the disease.

The onset of brucellosis can be acute or slow. The main clinical symptoms are general discomfort, fatigue, decreased appetite, headache, myalgia, chills, high fever, sweating, migratory joint pain, etc. The condition can last for more than ten days to several months. If not treated in a standardized manner, some cases can become chronic. In addition, the disease can also lead to low sexual ability, low working ability, and even loss of working ability!

Early standardized treatment

Early

If suspected symptoms of brucellosis occur, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible. Once diagnosed, you must follow the principle of "early detection, early treatment" and must not delay it until it becomes a chronic disease, otherwise the consequences will be serious.

joint

A single antibiotic is difficult to "conquer" Brucella. Clinical treatment of brucellosis requires a combination of at least two antibiotics; for the treatment of combined local infections, even a triple or quadruple regimen is required.

Adequate dose and adequate course of treatment

During the treatment of brucellosis, antibiotics should be used in sufficient doses. If the patient is intolerant to certain drugs during the first-line regimen, he or she can consult a physician or pharmacist to switch to a second-line regimen. Do not stop or reduce the dose without permission. At the same time, the course of treatment for this disease is relatively long, at least 6 weeks, and if necessary, the course of treatment can be extended to prevent recurrence and chronicity.

The specific plan is as follows:

Note:

Doxycycline: 100 mg orally twice a day;

Gentamycin: 5 mg/kg, once a day, intramuscularly;

Streptomycin: 1 g, once a day, intramuscularly;

Rifampin: 10 mg/kg, up to 900 mg, once a day, orally;

Co-trimoxazole: 160/800 mg, twice a day, orally;

Ciprofloxacin: 750 mg, orally twice a day;

Ceftriaxone: 2 g, intravenously every 12 hours;

Tobramycin: 1-1.5 mg/kg, intramuscular injection every 8 hours.

To prevent brucellosis, you should pay attention to the following:

1

Do not eat unclean food or food contaminated with Brucella;

2

Do not eat unheated beef or mutton, and do not drink unpasteurized raw milk;

3

We must continuously strengthen the awareness of prevention for key groups engaged in breeding, transportation, slaughtering, processing, etc., and take protective measures such as disinfection and isolation.

4

Animal epidemic prevention and quarantine personnel must be proficient in the essentials of vaccination and the use of protective equipment to ensure standardized operations and adequate protection.