A rare case of seronegative culture-proven infection with brucella suis

Brucellosis is a chronic infection produced by members of the Brucella family. Diagnosis of this condition requires either isolation of the organism in culture or positive serological tests. We describe a 27-year-old male admitted as a case of pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO), who tested negative for Brucella IgM ELISA test on preliminary evaluation but was subsequently diagnosed on the strength of positive blood and bone marrow cultures to be a case of brucellosis secondary to Brucella suis infection. In addition to highlighting the pathogenic potential of an unusual organism, this case demonstrates the unreliability of standard serological tests based on the Brucella melitensis antigen for infection with other species of Brucella.