A rare case of Brucella melitensis infection in an obstetrician during the delivery of a transplacentally infected infant

We report a case of Brucella melitensis infection in an obstetrician who was infected during the delivery of an infant suffering from congenital brucellosis. The obstetrician was treated with doxycycline and rifampin and fully recovered. This is the first reported case of Brucella infection transmitted through infectious secretions at the delivery of a transplacentally infected newborn and emphasizes that, especially in endemic areas educational and technical measures are needed in order the obstetricians to avoid ingestion of secretions during clearance of the newborn's respiratory tract from saliva and amniotic fluid.