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Thousands of Kenyans are said to have been wrongly diagnosed and treated for a milk linked disease called brucellosis. 

In 2012 alone 75,256 cases of brucellosis were reported to the Kenya Health Information System but according to a new study,  only one percent of the patients may have been infected.

A new study conducted by researchers at the Kenya Medical Research Institute [kemri] and six other international institutions, want the responsible test kit withdrawn from public hospitals.

''The diagnosis of brucellosis has been a challenge and it is time we looked into it seriously,' said Professor Sam Kariuki of Kemri.

''It is also a serious contributor to the growing antibiotic resistance in the country,'' he said.

The test, called febrile antigen brucella agglutination test or FBAT is used in government facilities throughout the country.

It appears to have a very poor diagnostic specificity and should be phased out, the study recommends.

Professor Kariuki says such a diagnostic tool has serious cost and health implications on patients.