Maternal and congenital brucellosis in Texas: changing travel patterns and laboratory implications

Brucellosis is an uncommon disease in the US, but Texas reports approximately a third of cases. We review the investigation of a pair of mother-infant cases that were unique in the demographics, the nature of travel exposure and the resulting brucellosis exposure in a hospital's delivery suite and laboratory. These cases illustrate the changing nature of travel and the need to obtain a relevant travel history and adequate laboratory procedures. Clinicians and laboratory workers in Texas need to understand that brucellosis remains an endemic disease, but that its epidemiology is changing.