Johns Hopkins ABX Guide
Brucella Species
MICROBIOLOGY
- Aerobic, intracellular Gram-negative coccobacilli [Fig 1] causing brucellosis.
- Grows on various media, usually within 24-48h of inoculation.
- Zoonotic disease, the most important species for human infections:
- B. abortus (cattle, buffalo)
- B. melitensis (goat, sheep, camel)
- B. suis (swine, wild animals)
- B. canis (dog)
- Less common:
- B. ovis (sheep)
- B. neotomae (desert and wood rats)
- Three marine species also described as afflicting marine mammals (B. delphini, B. pinnipediae, B. cetaceae) have been described causing human disease.
- Most human infections are due to B. arbortus and B. melitensis.
- There is a correlation between seroprevalence in animals and human cases.
- Recently, several taxonomists merged the free-living, environmental Ochrobactrum species with members of the genus Brucella. However, this may cause clinical misunderstanding if these are not reported distinctively.
- Laboratories reporting Brucella species causing human disease should make a distinction between these from non-pathogenic organisms, namely Ochrobactrum species.
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Last updated: July 8, 2023
Citation
Al-Tawfiq, Jaffar A, and Paul G Auwaerter. "Brucella Species." Johns Hopkins ABX Guide, The Johns Hopkins University, 2023. Pediatrics Central, peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540068/all/Brucella_Species.
Al-Tawfiq JA, Auwaerter PG. Brucella Species. Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2023. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540068/all/Brucella_Species. Accessed July 28, 2025.
Al-Tawfiq, J. A., & Auwaerter, P. G. (2023). Brucella Species. In Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University. https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540068/all/Brucella_Species
Al-Tawfiq JA, Auwaerter PG. Brucella Species [Internet]. In: Johns Hopkins ABX Guide. The Johns Hopkins University; 2023. [cited 2025 July 28]. Available from: https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540068/all/Brucella_Species.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - ELEC
T1 - Brucella Species
ID - 540068
A1 - Al-Tawfiq,Jaffar,M.D.
AU - Auwaerter,Paul,M.D.
Y1 - 2023/07/08/
BT - Johns Hopkins ABX Guide
UR - https://peds.unboundmedicine.com/pedscentral/view/Johns_Hopkins_ABX_Guide/540068/all/Brucella_Species
PB - The Johns Hopkins University
DB - Pediatrics Central
DP - Unbound Medicine
ER -
