Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Brucellosis [meeting held in Geneva from 12 to 19 November 1985] : sixth report

Abstract

An expert review of recent scientific and technological progress in brucellosis control which focuses on the effectiveness of methods now available. The book opens with a review of advances in research on the bacteriology of Brucella organisms. Precise biosafety measures at all levels are recommended in the book. The second main section reviews scientific knowledge of the immune response to Brucella infection. Information on vaccines is presented in the third section, which outlines the main features and drawbacks of all live and killed vaccines currently available for use in livestock or in man. Information on a newly developed, live oral vaccine with a wide range of applicability for the peripheral areas is one of the highlights of the book. Subsequent sections review what is known about the pathogenesis and transmission of Brucella organisms and discuss the diagnosis and treatment of human brucellosis. Readers are given expert advice on the evaluation of clinical symptoms, the correct use of newly developed diagnostic tests, preferred treatment regimens, and drugs of choice. The remaining sections are devoted to the control of brucellosis in animals. Details range from information on diagnostic tests and the interpretation of their results to a list of control procedures that have been standardized through repeated use in successful eradication campaigns