Question

A 36-year-old emergency medical technician (EMT) is exposed to a patient with brucellosis. Blood cultures are drawn from the EMT and reported as negative after 1 week. Which of the following statements explains this discrepancy?

A) Brucellosis has a short incubation period
B) Blood cultures are not a reliable diagnostic method for brucellosis
C) EMTs are immune to brucellosis
D) Brucellosis has a slow growth rate in blood cultures

Answer 1

Brucellosis is difficult to diagnose by blood cultures and is only reliably found in the blood during the acute fever stage. After the acute stage, the bacterium may become latent or may not be actively multiplying, making it harder to detect in blood cultures.

Step-by-step explanation:

The discrepancy in the negative blood cultures of the EMT after 1 week can be explained by the fact that brucellosis is difficult to diagnose by cultivation. Blood cultures are not a reliable diagnostic method for brucellosis. Brucella, the bacterium that causes brucellosis, is only reliably found in the blood during the acute fever stage. During this stage, the bacterium is actively multiplying in the blood and can be detected through blood cultures. However, after the acute stage, the bacterium may become latent or may not be actively multiplying, making it harder to detect in blood cultures.