In the last few years, the number of dogs diagnosed with Brucella canis infection in the UK is increasing.
Due to this and the zoonotic risk that this condition poses, we have further developed our policy for dogs considered to be at high-risk for Brucella.
Dogs that are considered high-risk include those that fulfil any of the following criteria:
- Imported from, or travelled to, a high-risk country or region (see list below)
- Direct contact with dogs known or suspected to be B. canis positive (e.g. breeding or cohabitation)
- Known exposure to reproductive fluids, aborted material or other high-risk bodily fluids from infected or potentially infected dogs
Current high-risk areas
- Eastern Europe: Romania, Moldova, Macedonia, Bulgaria, Bosnia, Serbia, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia, Turkey
- Southern Europe: Greece, Spain, Cyprus
- Asia: East Asia (including China, Japan, Mongolia), Southeast Asia (including Thailand, Vietnam), Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iran, India
- Africa: All regions
- Americas: Central and South America
When possible (particularly for routine referrals) our client care team will screen all referred patients, together with our clinical team, and will highlight any patients deemed to be high-risk that have not yet been tested using the combined APHA test.
- We ask you to test for Brucella before presentation to NDSR if that is possible (i.e. in routine cases). To reduce the risk of false positives, please test usingthe combined slide agglutination test (SAT) TC1032 and indirect ELISA (iELISA) TC0116 test offered at https://science.vla.gov.uk/Tests/Default.aspx?SiteName=CDT. Please request a rapid turnaround and forward results to [email protected] as soon as you receive them.
Please email us if you have any further questions regarding Brucella canis (relating to a specific case or in general).