What is the method used to test humans for Brucellosis?

• A. Blood culture
• B. Serology
• C. Urine culture
• D. Skin test

Answer: (A)

Testing humans for brucellosis relies on directly demonstrating the bacteria in a patient’s sample. Culturing Brucella from blood is the gold-standard method because it provides concrete evidence of an active infection and allows species identification and antibiotic susceptibility testing.

Serology, which detects antibodies, is useful for screening and supporting a diagnosis, but it can yield false positives from cross-reacting organisms or past exposure and may not distinguish current illness from prior infection. Urine culture is less sensitive for brucellosis, and skin tests are not routinely used for diagnosing humans with this disease because of variable sensitivity and cross-reactivity.

So, isolating Brucella from blood through culture gives the most definitive confirmation of brucellosis in a patient.