Brucella melitensis is a Gram-negative coccobacillus bacterium from the Brucellaceae family. The bacterium causes ovine brucellosis, along with Brucella ovis. Humans can become infected if they have contact with an infected animal or its byproducts. Animals acquire B. melitensis by venereal transmission. The organism is found in blood, urine, milk, and semen. It is zoonotic, unlike B. ovis, causing Malta fever or localized brucellosis in humans.

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