What is canine brucellosis? How does she transmit between dogs, and how does she treat them?
What is Canine brucellosis;?
Canine brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by COCCOBACILIES (bacteria) of the genus Brucella which causes gestation stops in the bitch and alterations of the quality of the seed in the male dog.
The agent responsible for this contagious dog’s disease is Brucella Canis, a harmful Gram bacterium that contaminates the canine species more specifically. But, more rarely, dogs can also be contaminated by bacteria responsible for porcine brucose, sheep and bovine.
How can a dog catch it?
Contamination occurs by the digestive pathway, by inhalation (during the shedding of contaminated products/secretions) or by the genital mucosa.
Most often, dogs are therefore contaminated by contact with infected body fluids, licking or inhalation urine, or contaminated genital secretions as well as by the sexual pathway during a coupling.
Is brucellosis contagious for man?
Yes, brucellosis is a zoonosis, that is to say, an animal disease transmitted to the man. The human being can contaminate in contact with infected animals, their genital secretions when manipulating abortions etc., in humans, the condition translates into fever and night sweats, headaches. Muscle pain/aches and high fatigue and can evolve into chronic osteoarticular pain.
What are the symptoms of brucellosis in a dog?
In the male dog, brucellosis goes unnoticed and do not cause any symptoms. But, it can nevertheless cause an alteration of the quality of its seed and to be at the origin of infertility. Some infected dogs, regardless, develop an epididymite, an inflammation of a small canal located in the scrotum, whose role is to route the spermatozoa of the testicle to the prostate. A chronic condition can also cause testicular atrophy.
Infected bitches can abort at an advanced stage of gestation (usually after the 45th stage of pregnancy) or give birth to dead or weak puppies that can die a few days after delivery. They also often have persistent vaginal losses. Sometimes abortions are earlier and can go unnoticed so well that we think the bitch sterile.
In case of chronic infection, the bacterium can infect:
intervertebral discs and cause rachis pain (discospondylite),
eyes causing earlier uveitis,
Or even the brain and provoke ataxia of the posterior limbs.
How is it diagnosed with canine brucellosis?
A blood test usually diagnoses the infection. Two serological screenings are needed to confirm the diagnosis.
The most commonly practised blood test is called the fast agglutination test on a blade or tube. He can detect infections three to four weeks after contamination. Its disadvantage is that it has a high rate of false positives. Positive dogs must be tested again and then see their disease confirmed by other test methods (Bacteria cultures in the blood, PCR tests, test D Immunodiffusion in agar …)
What is the treatment for brucellosis?
Antibiotics are used to control infection. However, treatment failures are frequent, and an infected dog remains a potential vector of the bacteria throughout his life, even if he has become a seronegative returned.
For these reasons, the surgical sterilization of the infected dog is recommended to reduce the excretion of bacteria in the environment and thus reduce the risk of contamination of other dogs or human being.
