Abstract

Brucella spp. is an uncommon class 3 pathogen isolated in laboratories serving nonendemic areas. We report four recent cases of brucellosis diagnosed at five different London laboratories which highlights the need to maintain a high index of suspicion for brucellosis in patients with a history of travel to and/or consumption of unpasteurised foods from endemic areas. We propose a protocol for risk categorisation, and describe the strategy adopted for serological follow-up of exposed staff and use of postexposure prophylaxis.