The timely and accurate diagnosis of different disease types/forms of human brucellosis, such as acute, chronic/relapsing, asymptomatic/subclinical, cured/resolved, continues to be challenging making the decision to “treat or not to treat” difficult in many cases. This is because of: a) the non-specific and atypical clinical features, b) the slow growth rate of Brucella in blood cultures and the reduced sensitivity of the method for detecting chronic cases c) the complexity of serodiagnosis of brucellosis, especially in people living in endemic regions, in high risk occupational groups (livestock workers and veterinarians) and in previously infected individuals, d) the long term persistence of brucellar DNA despite appropriate treatment and apparent recovery, making the interpretation of molecular diagnosis with PCR puzzling in many cases.

Integrated molecular data and methods that characterize different clinical types/forms of human brucellosis and the impact of Brucella on host immunity are missing today.