Arthritis -- Chronic Infectious Arthritis
Chronic infectious arthritis develops over weeks and is usually caused by mycobacteria, fungi, or bacteria with low
pathogenicity.
Chronic infectious arthritis accounts for 5% of infectious arthritis and is most likely to develop in patients with RA, HIV
infection, immunosuppression, or prosthetic joints (see below); however, it can occur in otherwise normal individuals.
Examples of possible causes are Mycobacterium tuberculosis, M. marinum, M. kansasii, Candida sp, Coccidioides
immitis, Histoplasma capsulatum, Cryptococcus neoformans, Blastomyces dermatitidis, Sporothrix schenckii, Aspergillus
fumigatus, Actinomyces israelii, and Brucella sp. The arthritis of Lyme disease is usually acute but may be chronic.
Unusual opportunistic organisms are possible in HIV-infected patients. In chronic infectious arthritis, the synovial
membrane can proliferate and can erode articular cartilage and subchondral bone.
http://www.merck.com/mmpe/sec04/ch039/ch039b.html?qt=(Brucella&alt=sh