Brucellosis

A healthcare provider diagnoses brucellosis by asking about your symptoms and testing your blood, tissues or other samples for signs of the bacteria Brucella. As symptoms of brucellosis can look like other diseases, your provider may test you for other conditions to rule them out.

The best way to confirm a Brucella infection is through growing the bacteria from body fluid or tissue. Brucella is slow-growing, so it may take a few weeks to confirm your diagnosis. You may need to do more than one blood test over a few weeks to check for signs of Brucella.

What tests will be done to diagnose brucellosis?

Your provider might get body fluid samples, and use imaging or other tests to help diagnose brucellosis, including:

• Blood tests. Your provider will take a sample of your blood from your arm using a needle. A lab can look for signs of Brucella (antibodies, antigens or DNA) in your blood or try to grow it over time (culture).
• Tests of other body fluids. Your provider may take samples of fluid from your spinal canal, joints or other parts of your body to look for signs of Brucella or grow it over time.
• Tissue biopsy. Your provider may take samples of your bone marrow or other tissue to look for signs of Brucella or grow it over time.
• Imaging. Depending on which parts of your body are affected, your provider may order X-rays, CT scans, MRI, bone scans, ultrasounds or an echocardiogram. These take pictures of the inside of your body to see if there are any changes to your bones or organs.