Canine Brucellosis testing strategies

1. This is required for dogs export to Europe. 
2. Canine brucellosis is a contagious disease in dogs caused by Brucella canis, an intracellular gram negative bacteria. 
3. While many infected dogs are asymptomatic, clinical signs in males include infertility, epididymitis, orchitis, testicular atrophy, scrotal dermatitis and/or diskospondylitis.

The female dogs with overt signs may show infertilities or fetal abortions. 

1. Canine Brucellosis Culture (Microbiology Laboratory) 

Canine Brucellosis culture is not a sensitive as serology antibody test, a positive Brucella canis cultures is considered a definitive diagnosis.

A sterile blood culture is the most common sampling method for culturing Brucellosis. 

Negative blood culture does not rule out the disease since in some dogs, the required bacteremia is intermittent.

This will result in a possible “false negative” blood culture. 

Recent anti-bacterial therapy may also temporarily inhibit the bacteremia resulting is a negatively culture.

Bacterial contamination of the blood sample during collection will quickly overgrow the blood sample during incubation making B. canis impossible to identify. 

Samples: Sterile whole blood culture in sodium citrate tubes, infected tissue or aborted/still-born puppy. Cost $3.00 and requires 4+ days of incubation. 

2. Canine Brucellosis Real-Time PCR Test (Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory) A real-time PCR test to identify Brucella canis is available at the KSVDL. 

The test is a duplex real-time PCR procedure targeting the 16S rRNA gene that is common to all Brucella species, and a DNA fragment that is specific to Brucella canis.

This test is more sensitive than a blood culture. Samples: Sterile blood culture in sodium citrate tubes or vaginal swabs in a sterile tube are the preferred sample types. 

The cost for the first 10 samples is $30.00 each, and for more than 11 samples the cost is $25.00 each. 

3. Canine Brucellosis ME Tube Agglutination Test (ME-TAT) (Serology Laboratory) The highly sensitive ME TAT agglutination screening test detects Brucellosis canis antibodies. 

This is the same test used by the National Veterinary Services Laboratories (NVSL) in Ames, IA and is an approved for exporting most dogs or semen.