Brucellosis in India: a deceptive infectious disease.

Brucellosis is an important but neglected disease in India. This zoonotic disease is present in all livestock systems and increased demand for dairy products accompanied with changing and intensified farming practices has raised the concern for increased spread and intensified transmission of this infection to the human population with increased risk of disease. Brucellosis can be controlled by mass vaccination of livestock. Human brucellosis can be treated with a combination of antibiotics but is very difficult to diagnose and requires laboratory testing for confirmation. Only a few recent studies have addressed the prevalence and importance of brucellosis as a human disease problem in India. The disease may be overlooked and misdiagnosed because of the difficult diagnosis and the absence and lack of experience with laboratory testing. Alertness of medical staff is needed to recognize and diagnose the disease. Awareness of risk groups is needed to take appropriate preventive measures and to accept control measures.