Dr. Ghenwa El Dakdouki is an Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and President-Elect of the Lebanese Society of Infectious Diseases. She holds leadership positions in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and infection control, and serves as a consultant at several medical centers in Lebanon. She completed her medical training at the Lebanese University and her fellowship in Infectious Diseases at AUBMC in Beirut. With extensive experience in clinical practice, teaching, and research, she has contributed to developing infectious disease and infection control services across southern Lebanon. She has published numerous scientific articles and 10 books, with special interests in diabetic foot management, brucellosis, antimicrobial stewardship, and infection control.

Abstract Title: A Neglected Re-emerging Disease: Brucellosis with Many Faces

Classified as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization, brucellosis is a multisystem infectious disease, also known as “Mediterranean flaccid fever,” “Malta fever,” and “undulant fever,” currently on the rise and gravely affecting the global economy (1,2).

Transmission may occur through direct contact with infected animal body fluids, consumption of unpasteurized dairy products and contaminated meats, inhalation of infected aerosol particles, sexual contact, breast milk, vertical transmission, bone marrow transplantation, and transfusion of blood products (3,4). Tick-borne transmission remains debatable (5).

Brucellosis can affect any organ system, presenting with various manifestations as a multisystemic disease, and can lead to many complications, such as spondylodiscitis, neurobrucellosis, orchitis, and endocarditis (6). However, Brucella can present with many different faces and unusual clinical manifestations, such as deep vein thrombosis, prostate abscess, and buttock abscess, which make the diagnosis difficult to realize (6,7,8).

Accurate diagnosis and adequate treatment modalities are critical steps in the management of this neglected and re-emerging infectious disease.

References

1. Samadi A, Amiri M, Hailat N. The reasons behind long-term endemicity of brucellosis in low and middle-income countries: challenges and future perspectives. Curr Microbiol. 2024;81:82.

2. Corbel MJ. Brucellosis in Humans and Animals. World Health Organization; 2006.

3. Qureshi KA, Parvez A, Fahmy NA, et al. Brucellosis: epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment—a comprehensive review. Ann Med. 2023.

4. Spernovasilis N, Karantanas A, Markaki I, et al. Brucella spondylitis: current knowledge and recent advances. J Clin Med. 2024;13:595.

5. Ma R, Li C, Gao A, et al. Evidence-practice gap analysis in the role of tick in brucellosis transmission: a scoping review. Infect Dis Poverty. 2024;13:3.

6. Dakdouki et al. Deep Vein Thrombosis Secondary to Brucellosis: An Uncommon Infectious Cause of Venous Thrombosis. Case Reports in Infectious Diseases. 2026;2026:5004349.

7. Dakdouki et al. Brucella prostatic abscess: first case report. Scand J Infect Dis.

8. Dakdouki et al. Brucella buttock abscess: a case report and literature review. Scand J Infect Dis.