Alice Catherine Evans in 1917 and published her work in the "Journal of Infectious Diseases" in 1918. She was met with skepticism, particularly because she was a woman and did not have a Ph.D. She warned that raw milk should be pasteurized to protect people from various diseases. During the 1920s, scientists around the world made the same findings, and eventually, "Brucella" was confirmed as the disease that caused what was then known as undulant fever and Malta fever. Her findings led to the pasteurization of milk in 1930. As a result, the incidence of brucellosis in the United States was significantly reduced.
Swine brucellosis nickel transport, "nikA", is activated by metal ion deficiency and is expressed once in the phagosome. Nickel is essential for many enzymatic reactions, including ureolysis to produce ammonia which in turn may neutralize acidic pH. Since "B. suis" is unable to grow in a strongly acidic medium, it could be protected from acidification by the ammonia. Summary: The most frequent clinical sign following "B. suis" infection is abortion in pregnant females, reduced milk production, and infertility. Cattle can also be transiently infected when they share pasture or facilities with infected pigs, and "B. suis" can be transmitted by cow’s milk.