Chronic brucella empyema.

Brucellosis rates have decreased in developed countries in recent years, but the pathologic condition still occurs in developing countries and well-known endemic areas such as the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern countries. A Portuguese patient presented in Switzerland with long-term pleural empyema, which was later diagnosed as Brucella empyema through positive cultures of Brucella melitensis. Brucellosis should be considered in patients who have traveled to Middle Eastern countries or any other areas where brucellosis is more frequently encountered.