Imaging of spinal and central nervous system brucellosis: a review.

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Gram-negative bacteria of the Brucella genus that can be acquired through contact with a contaminated animal or its secretions. The course of the disease can be acute, chronic, or persistent. Axial skeleton and central nervous system (CNS) are among the most common affected locations and may be involved in each of the forms. Due to the varying clinical picture of the disease, diagnosis is made mainly on the basis of laboratory examinations that detect specific IgM and IgG antibodies in blood or other biological material and/or cultures. Imaging methods, especially magnetic resonance imaging, can aid in establishing proper diagnosis, monitoring of the disease and, to some extent, enable differential diagnosis before obtaining the laboratory tests results. The aim of this review is to present imaging features of Brucella infection of the spine and CNS and provide the recent advancements in the field.