Brucella canis is a bacterial species which causes an infection known as Brucellosis. Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection, meaning it can be transmitted from dogs to humans. In the UK, it is mainly found in dogs imported from Eastern Europe and surrounding areas.
Symptoms in dogs include infertility and miscarriages and can also have other signs, such as lethargy, swelling of lymph nodes and lameness.
In humans we see fever; loss of appetite and weight loss; sweating; headaches; fatigue; back and joint pain. It is dangerous for pregnant women as it can cause miscarriage and stillborn babies.
It is thought that people who are immunosuppressed and young children may be at higher risk of developing symptoms and severe illness after infection with Brucella.
Which country’s are we concerned about?
The disease has been found in dogs imported from the following countrys:
- Romania (largest single source of positive imports into the UK)
- Poland
- Bulgaria, Hungary, Czechia, Slovakia
- Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus, Russia
- Balkans: Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Kosovo
- Spain (notably high PCR positivity in some datasets)
- Greece, Cyprus, Malta
- Turkey
For your protection and ours, we strongly recommend that any animals are tested before import. In the case of Romanian dogs, it is mandatory that they are tested within 30 days of import to the UK, via the UK Animal Plant and Health Agency (APHA).
Even if they had a test during import or before they left their origin country they still need a further test for confirmation of being disease free.
We advise testing 3 months after import as it can take 3 months after exposure for Brucellosis to show up on the blood tests. It is a simple blood test, whereby we test for exposure to the bacteria in two types of test (SAT and ELISA, sent to APHA laboratory), ensuring the highest specificity and sensitivity. These tests give us the best chance of picking up a true positive and a true negative result. The cost of this test is £125.86 plus a consult fee of £58.
Until that negative result, we advise good hygiene measures, such as washing hands for a minimum of 20 seconds with warm soapy water, not allowing them to lick you etc, to ensure your risk to any potential positive result is minimised, and isolation from the public and other dogs.
If your dog has been imported from one of the above country’s and has not had a brucellosis test 3 months from arrival:
We will only be able to provide first aid treatment to your pet, with appropriate PPE (charged at £5 surcharge per consult). We will always make sure that your pet receives treatment and pain relief. We will never refuse to see an animal due to a lack of brucellosis testing.
If your pet requires treatment that will expose veterinary practice staff to saliva or blood, such as an operation, we will perform an in house test called a FASTest, charged at £93.90. The benefit of this test is we can do it there and then in clinic to get a result. The downside of the test is it is not the most accurate test; as it will show up some false positives. Meaning it may say positive when you dog does not actually carry the disease, it will only show negatives very accurately; the chances of a false negative is extremely rare.
If we see a positive result on the in house test we will advise that we send off for the external test listed above and will need to wait 2-3 weeks for the result. If we then receive a positive result from this test you will be contacted by your local health protection team to discuss the risks to yourselves and others. They will also contact us as your vet. We will then discuss a plan to manage your pet’s health needs that also ensures the safety of our staff and other patients. We also then advise a repeat sample 4-6 weeks later.
If you have a dog that is testing positive from either test we will perform first aid in all instances.
You can find further info here: Brucella canis: information for the public and dog owners – GOV.UK
It is important to know that Brucellosis in dogs cannot be reliably cured. Therefore, management will be lifelong and may affect what veterinary care can be offered to ensure safety of staff involved. Because of this, euthanasia is sometimes considered, albeit very sad it is an option that is right for some pet owners but not all. We will always help to guide you to the best decision for your and your family, we are here to assist you with any choice you make for your pet.