Description
Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease caused by Brucella species that is transmitted from animals to humans. Brucella in dogs is classified as a sexually transmitted disease. The genus Brucella are Gram-negative, facultative intracellular pathogens.
The number of species in this genus gradually increased with the discovery of strains from wild animals such as amphibians and fish. The four main pathogenic Brucella species causing disease in humans are Brucella abortus (cattle, buffalo), Brucella melitensis (goats, sheep, camels), Brucella suis (pigs), and Brucella canis (dogs).
Worldwide, more than 500,000 new cases of brucellosis are diagnosed annually. Dogs come into frequent contact with humans and can be infected with Brucella. B. canis can be transmitted to humans by infected dogs or their secretions. Unlike other Brucella species, symptoms of B. canis infection are absent or mild. In dogs, B. canis can cause abortion, testicular atrophy, infertility, and lymphadenitis. The infection route is mainly through direct contact with the fetus, placenta, fetal fluids and/or vaginal discharge after abortions. In some cases, endocarditis or meningitis may develop. Of the other Brucella species, B. abortus and B. melitensis are more pathogenic for humans. Thus, human Brucella infection from dogs remains a problem, especially as the number of dogs used as pets is increasing significantly.
Molecular detection by PCR, which offers a high degree of sensitivity and specificity, is the preferred method and is much faster than culture methods..
Clinical signs
No symptoms
Symptoms can vary depending on where the bacteria is found. These are some of the signs you may notice in your dog:
Infection/inflammation of the bladder, urinary tract, vagina, uterus, placenta, inflammation of the epididymis (epididymitis), inflammation of the testicles (orchitis), inflammation of the prostate
Abortion
Infertility
Stillborn fetuses
Endocarditis
Meningitis
Some individuals may develop non-specific clinical signs such as lethargy, poor coat, generalized lymphadenopathy and fever
Transmission
Contact with sick dogs – direct contact with the fetus, placenta, fetal fluids, vaginal discharge after abortion
Mating with infected dogs
Detection
We are using for detection quantitative PCR system.
Samples
urogenital swabs
