Brucella Antibody - Agglutination

Brucellosis is a bacterial infectious disease that can quickly spread from animals to humans. It is caused by a bacteria called Brucella, which is commonly found in cows. You can catch this infection from other pet animals like dogs, sheep, goats, camels, and pigs. So, people looking after farms are more likely to get infected by this bacteria.

This infection is incurable among animals. This makes it difficult to control the disease as new strains of this bacteria emerge frequently. If a test for brucellosis is not taken, the condition can threaten the community.

The mode of transmission for this infection is by coming in contact with cattle or consuming an animal product infected with the bacteria. Furthermore, it may spread from one person to the other. Besides, breastfeeding mothers can pass on the infection to their infants. This infection can also be sexually transmitted through unprotected intercourse.

Some other circumstances to go for a brucella antibody agglutination test include:

• Suffering a cut or scratch on the skin
• Breathing contaminated air
• Consuming undercooked meat
• Drinking unpasteurised milk
• A recent history of dog bite
• Eating unpasteurised cheese
• Working or visiting a slaughterhouse
• Having close associations with a farm

Apollo 24|7 offers a detailed panel test for brucellosis to detect the infection at an early stage and start the treatment. Some symptoms to observe before going for the Brucella antibody test are:

• Occurrence of fever
• Constant back pain and muscle pain
• Chronic body pain that becomes severe at some point
• Sharp headache with dizziness
• Night sweat
• Abdominal pain
• Muscle weakness with difficulty in moving
• Chronic cough with slight difficulty in breathing

A Brucella antibody agglutination test is essential because the symptoms appear only after 30 days of infection.

However, the severity of the infection not only depends on the type of bacteria but also on your immune system. Thus, if you are taking immunosuppressive medicine, you are more likely to face severe symptoms.

Furthermore, different strains of bacteria cause different types of symptoms. While opting for a Brucella antibody test, you can keep the following strains and their complications in mind:

B. abortus: This strain causes a chronic infection, but the symptoms are mild to moderate. 
B. canis: Infection from this strain typically transmits from canines like dogs or cats. However, people infected with this strain might have diarrhoea and frequent vomiting.
B suis: It is a strain that causes distinct abscesses in different organs. 
B. melitensis: This is one of the most dangerous strains that cause sudden and severe symptoms. In some cases, the person may also lose the ability to move.

Additionally, you must observe the signs in the body and order a test for brucellosis because bacteria quickly develop a new strain. The newer strains may or may not have antibiotic resistance genes. Thus, a little ignorance can cause severe complications making conventional therapy ineffective.