Bacterium
Brucella species
Undulant fever, unpasteurized dairy zoonosis
broo-SEL-uh
High-yield clue
Undulant (relapsing) fever from unpasteurized dairy or livestock exposure is the classic brucellosis study clue.
Overview
Small Gram-negative coccobacilli that are facultative intracellular pathogens causing brucellosis (undulant fever), classically from unpasteurized dairy and occupational animal contact.
Classification
- Gram-negative
- Coccobacillus
- Brucellaceae
- Aerobe
- Facultative intracellular
Lab & identification clues
- Slow-growing, fastidious vocabulary
- Facultative intracellular survival concept
- Serology-based identification vocabulary
- Select-agent handling framing (concept-level)
Associations
- Unpasteurized dairy and animal-product transmission vocabulary
- Farmers, veterinarians, abattoir occupational risk
- Undulant fever and osteoarticular presentation vocabulary
Commonly confused with
- Francisella tularensis
- Coxiella burnetii
Your notes
Original student-study summary. Sources checked: OpenStax Microbiology 2e, NCBI Bookshelf Medical Microbiology, and CDC topic pages where applicable; reviewed 2026-06. Educational only; no diagnosis, treatment, dosing, or specimen-handling guidance.