Canine Brucellosis: An Emerging Disease

Abstract

Canine brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by Brucella canis, discovered by Carmichael in 1966. B. canis bacteria are gram-negative, immobile, coccobacillary, measuring between 1.0 and 1.5μm, facultative intracellular, aerobic, with a rough surface and non-spore forming. The bacteria is present in different countries around the world, including Brazil, and is easily spread. Resistance to Brucella infection is mainly involved in cellular immunity, as it depends on the activation of macrophages, but also on humoral immunity. Antibodies provide only partial protection and are mainly directed against lipopolysaccharide (LPS). There are several diagnostic methods for the disease, with their respective particularities. However, confirmatory diagnosis is only possible with isolation and identification of the bacteria, even though a negative result cannot confirm the absence of the pathogen, as several factors may interfere. It is necessary to obtain more data regarding the disease, as although it does not yet have great pathogenic potential, it has a clear capacity for infection, including in humans.