HEPATOSPLENIC ABSCESSES DUE TO BRUCELLA-MELITENSIS - REPORT OF A CASEINVOLVING A CHILD AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Suppurative disease of the liver and/or spleen is a rare and serious c omplication of human brucellosis. In the English-language literature, only nine cases have been reported, all involving adults with chronic infection. We report the case of a young child in whom abscesses of th e liver and spleen developed during acute brucellosis. Brucella melite nsis was cultured from an aspirate of the liver and from the bone marr ow. After percutaneous drainage of the liver abscess, the patient resp onded to a 56-day course of antimicrobial therapy. To our knowledge, t his is the first reported case of hepatosplenic abscess due to a Bruce lla species in a child.