Brucellosis confirmed in Brittany
There has recently been a confirmed Brittany with Brucellosis which is a sort of ‘dog VD’. This disease is very nasty which is why I require Brucella testing before a dog can come to my kennel. This is not a new disease and is the first time I’ve heard of it in a Brittany. It has been more prevalent in beagles, hounds, etc.
New research proves that it can be passed by one dog licking another dogs urine.
Precautions one should consider: Do NOT bring an unknown juvenile / older dog into your home or kennel without a current brucella test from anywhere in the world. You are asking for trouble if you do. It is best to test the dog just before it arrives (within 2 weeks). This disease is extremely difficult to cure since it lives inside the cell and relapses are not uncommon. Though rare, humans can contract it.
Here is an excerpt from my web site about my LONG STANDING policy regarding dogs that come to me for services:
ALL DOGS WILL BE TESTED for Brucella, intact or not! The test must be within 14 days of arrival to our kennel. It has been recently proven that casual contact with a brucella positive dog can be transmitted. It does NOT have to be sexual. NO EXCEPTIONS, PLEASE DON’T ASK US TO WAIVE THIS REQUIREMENT.
(Brucella Canis is spread through ingestion of contaminated placental material or aborted fetuses, mating – vaginal discharge of infected female/semen of infected male, mammary secretions, infected saliva, nasal secretions, or urine contaminated with semen and/or prostatic fluid.) There are reported cases coming from multiple states) Blood tests: Rapid slide agglutination test (RSAT), Tube agglutination test (TAT). Both RSAT and TAT can have false positive, but are good for screening. Enzyme linked immunosorbent (Elisa) is less likely to have false positive. Agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID) is most specific blood test and considered a confirmation test. (Cornell University Diagnostic Lab).
We suggest ELISA testing as the RSAT and TAT have a great number of false positives.
1 comment
I remember reading some articles on Brucellosis a couple of years ago in Northwestern Montana. There were some local Elk farmers that had their herds get loose on them and some animals were found to be infected with Brucellosis. The Game & Fish allowed a special hunt to help destroy the escapees before they could join a wild herd and infect the healthy Elk as well. If I remember right, they destroyed all of the farm raised Elk. That stuff is real nasty!!!!
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