Brucellosis in children: Prevention, diagnosis and management guidelines for general pediatricians endorsed by the Saudi Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (SPIDS)

In Saudi Arabia, brucellosis is an endemic zoonotic disease. Although it is believed that children are not commonly involved, a number of reports from endemic areas exhibited a high percentage of pediatric patients (20–30% of affected patients). Clinical manifestations of childhood brucellosis are varied and range from minimal symptoms to extreme morbidity and occasional fatality. Asymptomatic infections are also not uncommon. The fact that brucellosis is endemic in the Kingdom became clear in the early 1980s. Several reasons have been considered, but the most prominent of them is the increase in the importation of animals from areas where brucellosis is endemic, especially some African countries. Consumption of raw milk and, to a lesser extent, contact with infected animals or their products are the primary routes of infection. The consumption of fresh, unpasteurized milk from camels is a traditional practice, and people believe that boiling the milk removes nutritional value.