Recently, an eight-year-old girl from Kottakkal in Malappuram district of Kerala died after undergoing around two months of treatment for brucellosis.
- According to the WHO, Brucellosis is a bacterial disease caused by various Brucella species, which mainly infect cattle, swine, goats, sheep and dogs.
- Humans generally acquire the disease through direct contact with infected animals, by eating or drinking contaminated animal products or by inhaling airborne agents.
- Most cases are caused by ingesting unpasteurized milk or cheese from infected goats or sheep.
- Brucellosis is one of the most widespread zoonoses transmitted by animals and in endemic areas, human brucellosis has serious public health consequences.
- Expansion of animal industries and urbanization, and the lack of hygienic measures in animal husbandry and in food handling, partly account for brucellosis remaining a public health hazard.
