Comparison of B.melitensis and B.abortus Bacteremias with Respect to Diagnostic Laboratory Tests

Abstract

Aim: Brucellosis are most commonly caused by the Brucella species Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus. This study was aimed to determine the differences in the routine diagnostic tests (serological tests and blood culture positivity) that differentiate bacteremias caused by B. melitensis and B. abortus. Material and Method: This study included a total of 42 patients from whose blood cultures Brucella sp. were isolated between January 2010 and April 2014. A 8-10 ml blood sample was put into BACTEC plus/Aerobic F culture bottles after being drawn from patients (n: 42) with suspected brucellosis. The obtained samples were incubated in BACTEC 9240 device (BD Diagnostic, Maryland, USA) for 21 days. Sera of the blood samples taken simultaneously with the blood culture were studied with the Rose Bengal and Standard Tube Agglutination (STA) tests. Results: In patients with acute brucellosis, B. melitensis and B. abortus species showed no significant differences with respect to time to positive signal in blood cultures (for hours p= 0.850; for days p= 0.696) and the mean time to positivity. The earliest signal in the device was delivered at day 2., 44th hour and the latest at day 6., 123rd hour. No significant difference was noted between the two species with respect to the mean time to positivity. Discussion: This study did not show any significant differences between B. melitensis (n=22) and B. abortus (n=20) bacteremias with respect to age, sex, time to blood culture positivity, and STA test titer level.