Carefully consider travel and animal exposure history in all patients with undiagnosed febrile illnesses.
Brucellosis has earned its place alongside syphilis and tuberculosis as one of the ‘great imitators’ and causes of pyrexia of unknown origin.
A large proportion of communicable diseases have an animal origin. The focus articles in this issue cover the more ‘traditional’ zoonotic diseases, which are notifiable in Australia.
Q fever is the most commonly notified zoonotic disease in Australia, with the majority of cases reported from northern New South Wales and southern Queensland.