Employees of Harborview Medical Center are being treated for the dangerous Brucella bacteria after a possible exposure this month.

Employees in an operating room and a lab were exposed to the bacteria after an infected patient was admitted.

Harborview won’t say how many employees were exposed. Exposed employees have to take antibiotics and record their temperatures daily.

The national Centers for Disease Control are involved in dealing with the event.

“The response is robust because it can be a very serious disease if it’s not treated,” said Jeff Duchin, with King County Public Health. Duchin is helping coordinate the response.

“Brucellosis can cause a chronic condition with fever, weakness, muscle aches, back pain,” Duchin said. “It can affect multiple organs in the body, most likely the bones. It can affect the heart.”

Brucella is usually transmitted through unpasteurized dairy products, but people can also get it if it becomes aerosolized during surgery or in the lab.