Brucella causes bacterial infections, not viral. Humans become infected by having direct contact with infected animal meat, or ingestion of infected milk products. Animals that can be infected by Brucella are goats, cows, dogs, and pigs. Patients that become infected most likely are meat-packing employees, veterinarians, farmers and ranchers, or travelers who consume cow or goat products in Mexico. This bacteria penetrates the skin, eyes, lungs, or GI tract. It is spread through the lymphatic system, grows inside macrophages, and spreads throughout blood and organs. Symptoms include fever, chills, sweats, loss of appetite, backache, headache, and swollen lymph nodes. Fever tends to peak in the evening and returns to normal usually by morning. Symptoms can last up to months and even years, but is rarely fatal.
Ordinary influenza is an orthomyxo virus which may lead to pneumonia in high risk groups. Parainfluenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), may cause bronchiolitis, viral pneumonia, or croup in children and cold and flu in adults. Symptoms of epidemic influenza are high fever, shaking chills, headaches, malaise, and muscle aches. Upper respiratory symptoms imitating a cold can also occur such as dry cough, sore throat, and runny nose. Typical flu season runs between late December to early march, and up to 40% of a community can become infected during an outbreak. It can be spread through small particle aerosols (sneezing and coughing).
So, no Brucella and influenza are not the same.
