Brucellosis at FAME
FAME’s Pediatrician, Dr. Elissa Zirinsky (left) together with FAME’s Social Worker, Kitashu Nganana (right) talk to Sankara and his father (middle) during the consultation.
At FAME’s Outpatient Department (OPD), we meet a dad and son duo who’ve come in for their follow-up appointment. Sankara*, age 11, suffers from brucellosis, an infectious disease caused by direct contact with infected animals, eating or drinking contaminated animal products, or inhaling airborne agents. Sankara’s brucellosis is likely caused by ingesting raw (unpasteurized) milk from infected cows.
Sankara and his father come from a village two hours away from FAME. They first came to FAME a month ago when Sankara had eye problems. He complained of eye pain, redness and blurred vision. He also had a fever and vomiting.
“Sankara suddenly could not see very well. He could not count the cows correctly when they came home from the fields in the evenings, something he had done many times since he was a little boy. He then started having a fever and vomiting and became very weak. After trying local herbs and he wasn’t getting better, I brought him to FAME.”
After having his blood tests done at FAME, Sankara was diagnosed with brucellosis.
“I have heard about brucellosis before, but I was surprised that Sankara had it. I was very worried about him as it was clear that something was wrong. But the doctor reassured me he would be fine.”
In 2022, FAME treated 30 cases of brucellosis. This number is down from the 33 cases treated in 2021. This decrease is partly due to the Tanzanian Government’s 5-year One Health Strategic Plan (2015-2020) to enhance collaboration among humans, animals and wildlife health sectors to reduce the transmission of infectious diseases from animals to humans.
Sankara was given antibiotics and instructed to come back for a check-up after a month. Today he’s back and ready to see FAME’s pediatrician, Dr. Elissa Zirinsky. FAME’s Social Worker, Kitashu Nganana, joins the consultation to help with the translation, as Sankara’s father only speaks Maasai.
Dr. Elissa enters the examination room and greets the duo with a cheerful Maasai greeting, “Takwenya!” and Sankara and his father burst into fits of laughter! It turns out this Maasai greeting is only used towards women, never to boys or men! Sankara’s father, however, quickly reassures Dr. Elissa that they are very proud of her for speaking their language!
Dr. Elissa is happy with Sankara’s improvement since his first visit.
“Brucellosis can be challenging to treat, so I’m happy that Sankara is responding well to medication. Today I gave him the first dose of IV antibiotics and with Kitashu’s help, arranged for him to go daily to a health dispensary near his home for the remaining six days. This makes it much easier for the family, as they live far from FAME. I trust the family to complete the antibiotics course and look forward to seeing Sankara in a few weeks for a follow-up. We have talked to them about the importance of boiling milk and cooking meat thoroughly to prevent brucellosis. We asked them to use this opportunity to educate their community as well.”
“In my community [Maasai], it is common for boys between the ages of 9 and 12 to drink raw milk from the cows. They believe it makes them strong as they prepare for their warrior stage. When we get these cases, such as Sankara’s, we take the opportunity to educate them on the dangers of eating raw meats and drinking raw milk.”
-FAME’s Social Worker, Kitashu Nganana
“I was shocked when FAME called to remind me to bring Sankara for his follow-up visit and asked how he was doing. I was blown away! FAME deeply cares about us and I’m happy that my son is in your care. It might be normal for you to check up on your patients after they leave, but for us, it means the world that someone cares this much about us. Thank you.”
“Thank you for giving me medicine to take the pain away!”
*While the patient’s name has been changed to protect privacy, permission was secured to share their photos and story with FAME supporters and to raise awareness of available medical care at FAME Medical.