Medical Countermeasures, Protection and Treatment, against the Brucella species

The Brucella species are easily grown, highly infectious to humans by the aerosol route and resistant to harsh environments. These traits have contributed to these being part of the biological weapons programs in the United States (1943-1969), former Soviet Union (1920s-1990s), and Iraq (1973-1991). Brucella species also continue to be an agricultural and public health concern, afflicting about 10% of the livestock and about 500,000 people in developing countries. Although it is generally assumed that infections can be readily cleared with aggressive antibiotic therapy, relapses occur and recent PCR results on the sera of former brucellosis patients suggest that the infections are never totally eliminated. However, within this decade there is likely to be several successes for improved medical countermeasures (protection and treatment) against this bacterium, spurred by recent advances for subunit vaccines, immunomodulators, anti-Brucella antibodies, serum surrogate markers, and liposomal delivery of therapeutics. These discoveries are exciting but perhaps the greatest contribution will be indirect. The new concepts and approaches to improve medical countermeasures against the Brucella species may in turn also apply to several other pathogens equally difficult to protect against or treat.