News: Brucellosis Update
Update on our Brucella Canis Screening Protocol
For the attention of our clients who are traveling out of the UK or have rescued a dog from abroad.
Brucella Canis is a notifiable, zoonotic disease which veterinary surgeons, nurses and support staff are at greater risk of contracting while at work. This disease is becoming diagnosed more frequently in the UK, this is most likely attributed to dogs that are imported from abroad and dogs that are travelling abroad and returning to the UK.
In order to tighten surveillance and hopefully limit the introduction into the UK, Jim McLellan MRCVS & Associates have decided to screen all dogs travelling abroad for brucella canis. Initially this will only be an in house Snap Test, if the result from this test is positive it will then need to be sent for further testing at an APHA approved laboratory, this is to be done 3 months after the dogs return to the UK. This will be included in the cost of an Animal Health Certificate (if completed here), however, if the test result is positive from our in house snap test, it must be forwarded on for testing at a cost of £180. At the moment this will apply to all dogs returning from outside the UK other than EIRE or Northern Ireland.
We will also be asking before any operations if your dog has been abroad. If they have and do not have a negative brucella canis test since their return we will need to do the in house snap test before we continue with the operation. This is to protect all staff here at Jim McLellan MRCVS & Associates, as blood and bodily fluids during an operation can be a major factor in transmission. This test will be included in the cost of the operation but increases to £180 if there is a positive result and needs to be sent to an APHA approved laboratory. We will not be able to continue treatment unless the test comes back negative from the laboratory.
As brucella canis is notifiable, if any test is proved positive it must be sent for further testing to confirm a true positive.
This also applies to dogs that have been rescued from abroad, while rescuing can be a rewarding experience and many of our clients have welcomed a new doggy best friend into their family this way. Sadly, there is sometimes a risk of imported dogs carrying diseases which are not usually found in the UK. These diseases can be serious for your dog and some can be passed on to humans too. Imported dogs may be infected without showing any obvious signs of illness themselves.
Canine brucellosis is a contagious disease (caused by Brucella canis bacteria) found in many parts of the world but, until recently, only rarely in the UK . In the last few years there has been a sharp increase in the number of cases of Brucellosis canis diagnosed in dogs across the UK, mostly in imported dogs or those in close contact with imported dogs.
This infection can spread between dogs but also to humans and is now a notifiable disease and is reportable to APHA (the government Animal and Plant Health Agency).
Veterinary practices in the UK have been asked by the APHA to be on the lookout for canine brucellosis cases and to set up protocols to protect veterinary staff, owners and our UK dog population from this disease.
The most worrying characteristics of B canis infection is that many infected dogs show no clinical signs for years but can still pass the disease to other dogs and to humans in the meantime. (In an article in the British Small Animal Veterinary Association journal, dogs are described as "small Trojan horses" for Brucellosis as it is common not to have any clinical signs or symptoms of the disease but to have been carrying it potentially for years.) Your imported dog may look well and may have been part of the family for some years but could pose a risk to you, especially if it is not neutered. An infected dog can pass B canis to the veterinary staff caring for it, particularly during surgical operations and dental procedures . The only reliable way to detect the presence of B canis in an imported dog is by a blood test.