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Comparative Study
. 2020 Jan;32(1):77-86.
doi: 10.1177/1040638719891083. Epub 2019 Nov 21.

Diagnosis of canine brucellosis: comparison of various serologic tests and PCR

Juliana P S Mol  1 , Andressa C B Guedes  1 , Camila Eckstein  1 , Amanda P N Quintal  1 , Tayse D Souza  2 , Luis A Mathias  3 , João Paulo A Haddad  4 , Tatiane A Paixão  5 , Renato L Santos  1
Affiliations
Comparative Study

Diagnosis of canine brucellosis: comparison of various serologic tests and PCR

Juliana P S Mol et al. J Vet Diagn Invest. 2020 Jan.

Abstract

Canine brucellosis is an infectious and contagious disease associated with reproductive losses in breeding kennels. As a zoonotic disease, it poses a risk to human health, especially for veterinarians and breeders who handle materials potentially contaminated with Brucella canis. However, canine brucellosis is a neglected and underestimated disease given the difficulties in establishing a definitive diagnosis. We evaluated the frequency of detection of B. canis in 5 breeding kennels by using various serologic methods and PCR. Circulation of B. canis in these kennels was confirmed by bacterial isolation. The frequency of positive serologic results varied from 6.3% by AGID to 16.5% by dot-ELISA. There was no positive serology for smooth Brucella. PCR testing was positive in 13.9% of samples. The only detection tests with reasonable agreement were PCR and 2ME-MAT. The diagnosis of canine brucellosis remains challenging. The use of a single laboratory method, or even the use of different laboratory methods, may not be sufficient to reach a definitive diagnosis.

Keywords: Brucella canis; breeding kennels; detection methods; reproductive diseases; zoonosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
PCR and serologic tests for Brucella sp. performed in samples from dogs from 5 kennels (A–E, designated by panel letter) in Brazil. AGID = agar gel immunodiffusion; RBPT/2ME-RBPT = rose Bengal plate test, and 2-mercaptoethanol–rose Bengal plate test; CFT = complement fixation test; MAT/2ME-MAT = microagglutination, and microagglutination with 2-ME.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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