Isolation of Brucella melitensis biotype 3 from epidural empyema in a Bosnian immigrant in Germany

• DOI: 10.1099/jmm.0.038612-0
• Publication Date: 2012-06-09T03:33:36Z
• Authors: Dennis Tappe; Falk Melzer; Gernot Schmoock; Mandy Elschner; Thiên-Trí Lâm; Marianne Abele-Horn; Christian Stetter
• Keywords: Adult; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Epidural Space; Male; 0303 health sciences; Discitis; Emigrants and Immigrants; Brucellosis; 3. Good health; 03 medical and health sciences; Epidural Abscess; Germany; Brucella melitensis; Humans; Empyema

Brucellosis is a regionally emerging infectious disease in Mediterranean countries with an increasing number of human cases and high morbidity rates. Here, we describe a case of severe B. melitensis biotype 3 infection in an immigrant who had contact with ruminants during a short-term stay in Bosnia before he returned to Germany. The patient developed thoracic spondylodiscitis accompanied by a large epidural empyema and neurological deficits. The isolated strain was characterized and compared to other strains from the Mediterranean region by multiple locus variable number of tandem repeat analysis, showing minor differences between emerging strains from neighbouring geographical areas.