Milk-associated transmission of cattle diseases includes which condition?

• A. Brucellosis
• B. Glanders
• C. Melioidosis
• D. Pontiac fever

Answer: (A)

Milk can carry certain bacteria shed by dairy cattle, making some diseases transmissible through unpasteurized dairy products. Brucellosis, caused by Brucella abortus in cattle, is classic for this route because the organism can be shed in milk. Ingesting unpasteurized milk or dairy products made from it can transmit the infection to humans, leading to symptoms like fever, chills, sweats, and malaise. Pasteurization and animal control measures help prevent this milkborne transmission.

Glanders, caused by Burkholderia mallei, is mainly spread through contact with infected animals or their exudates, especially nasal secretions, and is not typically milkborne. Melioidosis, from Burkholderia pseudomallei in soil and water, has environmental exposure rather than a milk transmission pattern. Pontiac fever is a mild Legionella infection associated with inhaling aerosols from contaminated water systems, not milk or cattle.