Yesterday a patient called me complaining about abdominal pain. She wondered if this could have been connected with unpasteurized milk she had consumed these days. I suggested to her to take in the meantime Blessed thistle[Cnicus benedictus [see story below] and to let me know again. For established Brucellosis Doxycycline is advised.

Malta fever is transmitted to humans through direct and indirect contact with infected animals. Infection is most likely caused by ingesting unpasteurized milk or cheese from infected goats or sheep. It causes flu-like symptoms, including fever and lethargy.

This letter I sent to the BMJ in the past

Dear colleague,

I read in the archives of the BMJ the article about Brucellosis.

I have no experience with the treatment of this disease but once I saw a patient who-notwithstanding proper antibiotic treatment still did not feel really well.

After a short while of prescribing Cnicus benedictus [holy thistle] capsules, the patient came back to total health Maybe this is of interest to you.

Maybe this safe herb could be used in addition to the well-known treatment.

From the book: Herbal medicine {The Pharmaceutical press]  Carol Newall etc 1996

In vitro and animal studies

Antibacterial activity has been reported for an aqueous extract of the herb, for cnicin, and for the volatile oil.(6–9) Activity has been documented against Bacillus subtilis,  Brucella abortus, Brucella bronchoseptica,  Escherichia coli ,  Proteus species ,  Pseudomonas aeruginosa ,  Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus faecalis. The antimicrobial activity of holy thistle has been attributed to cnicin and to the polyacetylene constituents.(9)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3988621/#:~:text=Gastrointestinal%20manifestations%20of%20brucellosis%20in,common%20than%20localized%20gastrointestinal%20symptoms. [ rarely brucellosis cause [only] abdominal symptoms]