Ovarian abscess due to Brucella melitensis

Identification of an unusual Brucella strain (BO2) from a lung biopsy in a 52 year-old patient with chronic destructive pneumonia

Background

Brucellosis is primarily a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella species. There are currently ten Brucella spp. including the recently identified novel B. inopinata sp. isolated from a wound associated with a breast implant infection. In this study we report on the identification of an unusual Brucella-like strain (BO2) isolated from a lung biopsy in a 52-year-old patient in Australia with a clinical history of chronic destructive pneumonia.

Results

Standard biochemical profiles confirmed that the unusual strain was a member of the Brucella genus and the full-length 16S rRNA gene sequence was 100% identical to the recently identified B. inopinata sp. nov. (type strain BO1^T). Additional sequence analysis of the recA, omp2a and 2b genes; and multiple locus sequence analysis (MLSA) demonstrated that strain BO2 exhibited significant similarity to the B. inopinata sp. compared to any of the other Brucella or Ochrobactrum species. Genotyping based on multiple-locus variable-number tandem repeat analysis (MLVA) established that the BO2 and BO1^Tstrains form a distinct phylogenetic cluster separate from the other Brucella spp.

Conclusion

Based on these molecular and microbiological characterizations, we propose that the BO2 strain is a novel lineage of the newly described B. inopinata species.

Novel Brucella strain (BO1) associated with a prosthetic breast implant infection

We report the microbiological, biochemical, and molecular characterization of an unusual Brucella strain (BO1) isolated from a breast implant wound in a 71-year-old woman with clinical symptoms consistent with brucellosis. Initial phenotypic analysis, including biochemical and antimicrobial susceptibility testing, cellular fatty acid analysis, and molecular analysis based on DNA-DNA reassociation and the presence of multiple copies of IS711 element suggested that the isolate was a Brucella-like organism, but species determination using microbiological algorithms was unsuccessful. Furthermore, molecular data based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing and multilocus sequence analysis demonstrated that BO1 was an unusual Brucella strain and not closely related to any currently described Brucella species. However, comparison with equivalent sequences in Ochrobactrum spp. confirms that the isolate is much more closely related to Brucella than to Ochrobactrum spp., and thus the isolate likely represents an atypical and novel strain within the genus Brucella.

Gonadal brucellar abscess: imaging and clinical findings in 3 cases and review of the literature

We report the cases of 3 patients with brucellar gonadal abscess who were examined with gray-scale and color Doppler sonography. In these 3 cases, sonography revealed a thick-walled avarian (n = 2) or testicular (n = 1) abscess. Duplex Doppler sonography indicated a low-resistance type of flow in all 3 patients. The diagnosis of brucellar gonadal abscess is difficult, because it may have a misleading tumor-like appearance. Awareness of the imaging findings of gonadal abscess in patients with brucellosis and correlation with the results of serologic testing can allow early diagnosis, especially in endemic areas.