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by hexe on 14 January 2015 - 20:01
BRUCELLOSIS, CANINE - AUSTRALIA: (NEW SOUTH WALES)
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A ProMED-mail post
ProMED-mail is a program of the International Society for Infectious Diseases <http://www.isid.org>
Date: Tue 13 Jan 2015
Source: Namoi Valley Independent [edited] <http://www.nvi.com.au/story/2813639/brucellosis-strikes-gunnedah-animal/>
Veterinarians have issued a warning as Gunnedah's [New South Wales, NSW] 1st case of brucellosis (_Brucella suis_) in dogs was diagnosed last week [week of 5 Jan 2015].
Brucellosis, an infectious disease rare in Australia, originates in pigs but can infect a range of animals and be passed on to humans.
Gunnedah Veterinary Hospital veterinarian Trish Robinson said a young male dog was brought to the clinic with a number of signs of brucellosis. "The dog had been unwell for a week, it was lethargic, not eating, and the owner noticed its testicles were swollen -- an obvious sign of the infection," Ms Robinson said.
"I conducted a blood test which returned positive for brucellosis -- this is the 1st case Gunnedah has seen."
Other clinical signs include fever, back pain, lameness, vomiting, enlarged lymph nodes, and blood in urine.
Under NSW legislation, brucellosis is a notifiable disease, and was reported to the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), who recommend euthanasia.
"There isn't enough known about brucellosis in dogs and how long they remain infectious for, so the recommendation is euthanasia due to the risk of spreading to other dogs and people," Ms Robinson said.
"There is no effective treatment or cure for the disease."
Ms Robinson said the dog was euthanised and all other dogs from the property were tested, returning negative results and would be re-tested in 6 weeks.
She said the disease was caught from direct contact with feral pigs.
"It is caught from bodily fluids and has also been detected in dogs that have been fed raw feral pig meat," Ms Robinson said.
"It can also be passed on to pups at birth if the mother is infected."
NSW DPI senior veterinary officer Amanda Lee said the disease had been detected in dogs that had been pig-hunting in northern NSW, particularly around the Moree area.
The NSW DPI website states brucellosis is potentially fatal in people, with symptoms [in people - Mod.TG] including intermittent fever, sweating, lethargy, loss of appetite, headaches, and back pain.
Symptoms in human beings begin with a flu-like illness and can occur up to 6 months later, with potential relapses.
Ms Robinson said it was important for pig hunters to keep their dogs and themselves safe from contracting the disease. "Hygiene is very important and protective clothing when gutting or killing feral pigs," Ms Robinson said.
"People should cover any cuts or abrasions on themselves or their dogs before pig hunting and not feed dead carcasses to animals.
"People need to seek medical advice if they are unwell or veterinary attention for their dog if symptoms or clinical signs in the animal present after pig hunting."
[Byline: Ashley Gardner]
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Communicated by:
ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts
[Brucellosis is a bacterial infection caused by Gram negative coccobacillus (short rods). Brucellosis is a serious, globally distributed zoonotic disease.
Humans are susceptible to infection by _Brucella suis_, _B. abortus_, _B. melitensis_, and _B. canis_, and can have lifelong symptoms of undulating fever, enlarged lymph nodes, malaise, and arthritis.
Consumption of unpasteurized dairy products confers the highest risk for brucellosis in disease-endemic areas. However, hunters and owners of hunting dogs are at high risk for transmission of brucellosis from wildlife. Sporadic transmission of _B. canis_ from pet dogs to their owners has been reported. We caution the public about the potential for transmission to humans in contact with infected dogs and wild hogs.
Smooth _Brucella_ spp. express the immunodominant O side chain on the lipopolysaccharide of their surface. Therefore, this side chain forms the antigenic basis of diagnostic tests, such as the card test. The _B. abortus_ plate antigen (BAPA) test can detect smooth species.
Because _B. canis_ does not express the O side chain on its surface, serologic tests for _B. canis_ differ from tests for _B. abortus_, _B. suis_, or _B. melitensis_. Therefore, _B. suis_-infected dogs are unlikely to have positive results for _B. canis_ tests and vice versa.
Although transmission of _B. suis_ from dogs to humans has not been reported, _B. suis_ is second only to _B. melitensis_ in its pathogenicity to humans. Therefore, dogs exposed to feral hogs should be tested for _Brucella_ spp. and monitored for clinical signs, while keeping in mind that sensitivity and specificity of _B. abortus_-specific tests is unknown. If a pet is infected with _B. canis_, a long course of antimicrobial drugs and spaying or neutering to prevent breeding is advisable but might not be completely effective.
Because _B. suis_ is more pathogenic to humans than _B. canis_, and its mechanisms of pathogenesis in dogs can vary, the same recommendations might not be true for _B. suis_-infected dogs. Given the serious zoonotic implications of _B. suis_ infections, euthanasia of the affected pet may be advocated by regulatory agencies and physicians treating exposed humans.
Little information, including that for pathogenesis or duration of bacteremia, is available for _B. suis_ infections in dogs. Therefore, blood cultures might not reliably detect _B. suis_-infected dogs. For _B. canis_ infections, only animals certified free of _Brucella_ spp. by 2 consecutive serologic or blood culture tests conducted 4-6 weeks apart can be used as breeding stock in kennels. If an outbreak occurs in a kennel, all infected animals should be isolated and euthanized after showing positive test results. The premises should also be thoroughly disinfected before restocking.
_B. suis_ is a public health concern in Australia, being mainly a recreational or occupational disease of feral pig hunters, farm workers, veterinarians, and abattoir workers.
Orchitis is one of the predominant symptoms of _B. suis_ infection in pigs and dogs.
References
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1. Seleem MN, Boyle SM, Sriranganathan N: Brucellosis: a re-emerging zoonosis. Vet Microbiol. 2010; 140(3-4): 392-8. doi:10.1016/j.vetmic.2009.06.021;
abstract available at <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19604656>.
2. De Massis F, Di Girolamo A, Petrini A, et al: Correlation between animal and human brucellosis in Italy during the period 1997-2002. Clin Microbiol Infect. 2005; 11(8): 632-6. doi:10.1111/j.1469-0691.2005.01204.x; available at
<http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-0691.2005.01204.x/full>.
3. Barr SC, Eilts BE, Roy AF, Miller R: _Brucella suis_ biotype 1 infection in a dog. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 1986; 189(6): 686-7; abstract available at <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3759635>.
4. Lucero NE, Corazza R, Almuzara MN, et al: Human _Brucella canis_ outbreak linked to infection in dogs. Epidemiol Infect. 2010; 138(2): 280-5. doi:10.1017/S0950268809990525; abstract available at <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19653929>.
5. Nomura A, Imaoka K, Imanishi H, et al: Human _Brucella canis_ infections diagnosed by blood culture. Emerg Infect Dis. 2010; 16(7): 1183-5 10. doi:3201/eid1607.090209; available at <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3321888/>
6. Mateu-de-Antonio EM, Martin M, Casal J: Comparison of serologic tests used in canine brucellosis diagnosis. J Vet Diagn Invest. 1994; 6(2): 257-9. doi:10.1177/104063879400600220; available at <http://vdi.sagepub.com/content/6/2/257.long>.
7. Communication of the Georgia Department of Community Health (DCH) Division of Public Health. Brucellosis; information for dog owner, 2011. [cited 2011 Aug 25]; available at <http://dph.georgia.gov/sites/dph.georgia.gov/files/related_files/site_page/ADES_Brucellosis_Info_for_Dog_Owners_0.pdf>
Portions of this comment were extracted from <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3311166/>.
Maps of Australia can be seen at <http://www.ezilon.com/maps/images/oceania/australia-political-map.gif>
and <http://healthmap.org/promed/p/36033>. - Mod.TG]
[See Also:
2014----
Brucellosis, canine - Australia (02): (NS) B. suis 20141009.2846346 Brucellosis, canine - Australia: (NS) B. suis 20140628.2571258] .................................................sb/tg/mj/lm
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by bubbabooboo on 14 January 2015 - 22:01
Several strains of Brucellosis exist and the vaccines used do not confer immunity to many of the wild types present in wildlife and livestock in N. America. This is nothing new in N. America .. perhaps news in Australia?? The statement that there is no effective cure is incorrect I believe .. it is however difficult to prove an animal can not possiblly be a carrier but treated animals and humans can recover. Otherwise I guess we would need to euthenize humans with Brucellosis as well. I would say Brucellosis is no harder to cure than Lyme or many of the tick borne diseases. Animals with Brucellosis are taken out of the breeding population of their species as the disease if present is easily passed during gestation and birth to the offspring. Animals eating afterbirth of infected animals which have given birth such as dogs eating the afterbirth of infected livestock can get the Brucellosis strain carried by that animal. I don't think the swine strain showing up in a dog is anything new to scientist in N. America.
by hexe on 15 January 2015 - 00:01
It's of interest because few DOGS are show clinical signs of, let alone diagnosed with, B. suis, bubbabooboo.
It's also of interest because of how the dog is believed to have been infected: via ingestion of raw meat from infected feral swine.
And lastly, it's of interest because it's a zoonotic disease, and the owners of an infected dog can very easily become infected themselves.
For vkgsd, it's also of interest because it directly ties in to a question he asked last week, WRT his friend deciding he wasn't going to allow his stud dog to do natural cover breeding any longer, for fear of this disease as well as possible injury to the stud dog by an angry female.
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