Question 1

The serum agglutination test (SAT) detects antibodies to&#10;A)Brucella abortus.&#10;B)B.melitensis.&#10;C)B.suis.&#10;D)All of the above are correct.

Accepted Answer

Because of the difficulty of isolating the organism, a serologic test, the serum agglutination test (SAT), is widely used and detects antibodies to Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis; SAT will not detect B. canis antibodies. A titer of 1:160 or greater in the SAT is considered diagnostic if this result fits the clinical and epidemiologic findings.

Question 2

The serum agglutination test (SAT) fails to detect antibodies to&#10;A)Brucella abortus.&#10;B)B.melitensis.&#10;C)B.suis.&#10;D)B.canis.

Accepted Answer

Because of the difficulty of isolating the organism, a serologic test, the serum agglutination test (SAT), is widely used and detects antibodies to Brucella abortus, B. melitensis, and B. suis; SAT will not detect B. canis antibodies. A titer of 1:160 or greater in the SAT is considered diagnostic if this result fits the clinical and epidemiologic findings.

Question 3

Facultative, intracellular parasitic bacteria are those which are&#10;A)able to be cultured with or without oxygen but in cell cultures only.&#10;B)able to exist in both intracellular and extracellular environments.&#10;C)able to be cultured only with oxygen and in cell cultures.&#10;D)can only be cultured inside living organisms like mice.

Accepted Answer

Brucella spp. are facultative, intracellular parasites (able to exist in both intracellular and extracellular environments).

Question 4

A nonmotile, urease- and nitrate-positive, strictly aerobic gram-negative coccobacillus is most likely&#10;A)Bordetella.&#10;B)Moraxella.&#10;C)Kingella.&#10;D)Acinetobacter.&#10;E)Brucella.

Accepted Answer

On Gram stain, Brucella are small, coccobacilli that resemble fine grains of sand. Other nonfermentative gram-negative coccobacilli that may be confused with Brucella are Bordetella, Moraxella, Kingella, and Acinetobacter spp. Brucella spp., however, are nonmotile, urease- and nitrate-positive, and strictly aerobic.

Question 5

Persons considered at greatest risk for contracting brucellosis are&#10;A)dairy farmers.&#10;B)livestock handlers.&#10;C)slaughterhouse employees.&#10;D)veterinarians.&#10;E)All of the above are correct.

Accepted Answer

Brucellosis is a zoonosis and is recognized as a cause of devastating economic losses among domestic livestock. Each of the four Brucella spp. that are pathogenic for humans has a limited number of preferred animal hosts. Persons considered at greatest risk for contracting brucellosis are dairy farmers, livestock handlers, slaughterhouse employees, veterinarians, and laboratory personnel.

Question 6

Organisms belonging to the genus Brucella are&#10;A)gram-positive diplococci.&#10;B)gram-positive diphtheroid bacilli.&#10;C)gram-negative coccobacilli.&#10;D)gram-negative bacilli.

Accepted Answer

Organisms belonging to the genus Brucella are small, nonmotile, aerobic, gram-negative coccobacilli or short rods that stain poorly by conventional Gram stain.

Deck 35: Brucella