Brucella canis is an emerging, zoonotic bacterial infection, largely driven by the growing number of dogs being imported, particularly from Eastern European countries. Although the risk to humans is considered low, infection can have serious consequences. Many infected dogs are asymptomatic, which means the infection can go unnoticed without specific testing.
Why is Brucella canis important?
Brucella canis is a zoonotic infection, which means that dogs can infect humans, which can cause serious illness. Veterinary professionals are at increased risk due to their close contact with dogs and exposure to bodily fluids during examinations, procedures and surgery. It is therefore important that we identify dogs carrying the infection so that appropriate precautions can be taken to protect veterinary staff, pet owners and the wider community.
Dentistry and Brucella canis
Dental procedures present an increased risk for Brucella canis transmission to our staff and patients as ultrasonic scaling, high-speed drilling and oral surgery create infectious aerosols containing bacteria from saliva and blood.
DentalVets and Brucella canis
At DentalVets as we provide a dentistry and oral surgery referral service we take the higher potential risk of Brucella canis transmission seriously due to the risk it may pose to our staff, clients and their families, as well as other dogs in our care.
For this reason, we require Brucella canis screening for all at risk dogs prior to referral and being seen at DentalVets.
At Risk Dogs
- Any dog that has originated from, visited or travelled through North and South America, Asia, Africa, and eastern and central Europe.
- Rescue dogs of unknown history.
- Dogs imported from Romania who tested negative before they travelled need to be tested again once they have been in the UK for a minimum of 3 months after arriving in the country. This is to allow time for anti-bodies to develop in cases that may have been exposed around the time of importation.
- Dogs who are imported from, have visited or travelled through New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweeden, Denmark, Finland, Switzerland are exempt from testing.
Testing
Due to the zoonotic potential risk all at-risk dogs visiting DentalVets must provide evidence of a negative SAT and iELISA serological test. A negative result significantly reduces the likelihood of infection.
The serological tests must be performed by the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) and these take around 7-21 days to return. It requires a single blood sample (2ml serum), which should be submitted to your local APHA laboratory.
The test codes are as follows:
- Brucella canis SAT (TC1032) which tests for IgM.
- Brucella canis iELISA (TC0116) which tests for IgG.
A negative APHA test result will permit the referral appointment and procedures to proceed as normal.
Positive for Brucella canis
A positive result does not necessarily mean your dog is unwell, many dogs with Brucella canis show no signs of illness.
If a positive result is confirmed, your own vets will discuss what this means for your dog, your household and any other dogs that may have been in contact with them. Current guidance and recommendations continue to evolve as we learn more about the disease.
Unfortunately, at DentalVets we are do not have the required isolation facilities to handle positive cases and therefore we cannot accept referrals for dogs that have tested positive for Brucellosis canis or are untested at risk dogs.
If you are a referring vet with a Brucellosis canis positive emergency please contact DentalVets on 01620 890 002 for advice.