Veterinary professionals

Brucella Canis Update

New protocol for vets looking to refer travelled dogs to our hospital

Since the R(D)SVS put a Brucella canis protocol in place in June 2022, our hospital staff have become more skilled and accustomed to managing the risk posed by Brucella canis.

The APHA, alongside other agencies, have engaged in a full review (HAIRS report) and recently concluded that the risk posed by Brucella canis is low, as long as appropriate precautions are taken and staff are educated in managing high-risk patients.

The R(D)SVS wishes to continue to respond to best practices and adapt the Brucella canis protocols accordingly. It is with this in mind that our hospital team has made changes to our testing recommendations which we hope will strike an improved balance between the need for ongoing disease surveillance, staff safety and patient welfare.

How do these changes affect my referral?

Previously, we advised all travelled and/or sexually active dogs (irrespective of origin) to be tested prior to referral. In keeping with the APHA recommendations we will now only enforce pre-referral testing in dogs that originate from high-risk countries where the disease is endemic; Americas, Asia, Africa, Eastern and Central Europe. 

Travel and reproductive history remain a vital piece of any clinical history and any breeding dog (travelled or otherwise), or dog with known reproductive issues history (e.g abortion or infertility) should ideally be tested. Our internal medicine team are more than happy to discuss specific cases and whether testing is warranted.

As before, a negative serology test result will permit the referral appointment and procedures to proceed as normal. In the event that a dog’s condition deteriorates and test results are pending, advice can be sought from our internal medicine team as with guidance, additional diagnostic tests may be able to be performed at your practice. Emergent referrals of high-risk dogs, or those tested within 3 months of possible exposure will be accepted but we ask for your patience as isolation space is limited and each high-risk patient requires a significant amount of planning.

Any dog originating from high-risk countries that present untested will be tested by an in-house lateral flow assay at the point of admission. These tests lack accuracy and therefore a positive test will then require confirmatory testing to be submitted to APHA at additional cost to the client. During this time the patient will be managed in isolation with high-barrier nursing PPE as a precaution. Diagnostic tests, including imaging, can be carried out but may need to be rescheduled to ensure the safety of all hospital dogs and personnel.  

What is the updated screening test recommendations for dogs who might have Brucella before they enter the hospital?

Serological tests (antibodies) are the most sensitive test to detect dogs with Brucella infection in dogs. PCR testing lacks sensitivity and there is a high risk of false negative and therefore a negative PCR test does not exclude infection. The serological test must be performed by the Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) and takes between 7-21 days to return. It requires a single blood sample (2ml serum), which should be submitted to your local APHA laboratory. Please continue to factor this in for routine, non-emergent cases.

The test codes are as follows:

  • Brucella canis SAT (TC1032) which tests for IgM.
  • Brucella canis iELISA (TC0116) which tests for IgG.

These can be sent directly to the APHA as per sample submission form LSW008, and costs are as per the APHA Scientific Tests price list (vla.gov.uk). All diagnostic samples should be packaged and dispatched in according with UN3372 packing regulations.

Results should be forwarded to the RDSVS Hospital for Small Animals reception (HFSAreception @ed.ac.uk) with the referral request. Results will be made available to the relevant hospital department and referral can still proceed, albeit with strict barrier nursing in place, in the event of a true positive.

Sadly, both false positive and false negative results can occur. False negatives can arise if testing of the patient was early in the course of infection (within three months of travel) whilst false positives can occur if the patient is concurrently infected with other bacteria (Salmonella). As such we may request that a repeat sample be performed, ideally after three months later to ensure seroconversion.

Any referring practices that require additional information can contact one of our internal medicine specialists who will be happy to advise about patient management and testing.