10 Brucellosis Serum Ab Tests for detection of canine Brucellosis

Serum or plasma samples (individual or pool up to 10)
Part numbers and sizes
 (10 plates/strips)

This is a rapid slide agglutination test kit for detection of adult and puppy brucellosis by an antibody rapid test of the bacteria canis.

Also you can ask a veterinary molecular biology lab for a pcr diagnosis or your dogs infection.

The Gentaur Brucellosis Serum Ab Test allows for the analysis of individual sera or plasma samples and pools of maximal 10 sera or plasmas with same process, and according to the requirements defined in the modification project of the European Directive (CEE 64/432, modifications of Annex C dated on 21/03/2002).

How do you test for brucellosis in animals?

Brucella is mainly tested in dogs and cattle by a rapid test casette or a laminar flow test on a small drop of blood.

How much does it cost to test for brucellosis?

The price will be about 15 usd a test but you have to buy online a box of 10 tests and take the blood yourself from the ear of your dog. We do not supply boxex with 1 test.

How often should you test for brucellosis?

Eacht time you bring in a new male dog you should test it for the asymptomatic Brucella that will kill the female when it gets pregnant.

Is brucellosis in dogs common?

Unfortunately Brucella is getting more commin in Canada and USA. About 3.5% of the healthy males are reported in a study of 650 breading dogs to carry the Brucella infection in California.

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The Brucella detection kit detects in case of individual serology the international standards serum OIEISS at 1/150 dilution in negative serum and in case of pool of sera the OIEISS at 1/1500 dilution in negative dog serum.

Diagnostic Options for Canine Brucellosis

1. Brucellosis is a contagious, zoonotic disease caused by a small, gram-negative, aerobic, coccobacillus bacteria in the genus Brucella.
2. Clinical signs can vary from species to species and from animal to animal but reproductive failure is the most common clinical sign in all animals. Based on the levels of lipopolysaccharide (LPS), the organism can either have a rough morphology (Brucella canis), or it can have a smooth morphology (B. abortus, B. suis and B. melitensis).
3. The differences in rough vs. smooth are important when choosing a brucellosis test as most tests can only detect one type.
4. The canine brucellosis test kit is developped to detect brucellosis in dogs at home.
5. This brucellosis test is specially suited for dog breeders.
6. Canine brucellosis can only be treated by ceveral months of antibiotics and testing every 2 weeks. If your dog is negative you need to test the next week and if the dog is still negative you can try to stop the treatement. However dogs can refall frequent into Brucella infection.

How long does it takes to get results with the Gentaur brucellosis test kit?

You will have the result by a positieve line in the flow casette appearing within 10 minutes.

Can there occur false positives in brucellosis testing in dogs?

When the kennel has Bordetella bronchiseptica and caughing dogs there can be false positives.

Is there a difference with the casette test and the brucella canis card test?

The card is used for agglutination, comparing the test sample to the positive control. The casette test gives 2 lines as positive result.

How do dogs get brucellosis?

Brucella organisms tend to have a host preference, but most can infect other host species. Brucella canis is the most common causative agent of canine brucellosis, but dogs can also become infected with Brucella abortus (cattle) and Brucella suis (pigs) after ingesting contaminated placentas and aborted fetuses from livestock. It has also been reported that attenuated vaccine strains of B. abortus and B. melitensis (sheep, goats) can infect dogs.

There are four different test options for canine brucellosis diagnosis:

What is canine brucellosis?

Canine brucella is a contagious bacterial infection caused by the bacterium, Brucella canis (B. canis). This bacterial infection is highly contagious between dogs and causes the infection of the reproductive system as Brucella is a sexually transmitted disease.

Different species of Brucella infect sheep, goats, cattle, deer, elk, pigs, and other animals.

What are the signs of brucellosis?

Canine Brucellosis causes infertility, abortions, with few other signs of clinical illness and is  the most common sexually trasnmitted disease in adult dogs.

"Brucellosis in dogs typically causes reproductive problems such as infertility and abortions, with few other signs of clinical illness." tells Lieven Gevaert, Bio-engineer at Gentaur.

1. Male dogs can be infected with brucellosis and develop epididymitis, an infection in part of the testicle. A dog with a newly acquired infection will often have an enlarged scrotum or an enlarged testicle and may have a skin rash on the scrotum. The dog may be infertile. In chronic or long-standing cases, the testicles will atrophy or become shrunken.
2. Female dogs infected with brucellosis develop an infection of the uterus; causing her to be infertile, have difficulty getting pregnant, or she may abort in the late stages of pregnancy. She often has a persistent vaginal discharge. Typically, a pregnant dog with brucellosis will abort at 45-55 days of gestation or will give birth to stillborn or weak puppies that may die a few days after birth.
3. During the early stages of brucellosis, enlarged lymph nodes are common. Occasionally, B. canis will infect the intervertebral discs, eyes, kidneys, or brain. If the bacteria infects these other tissues, the signs will be related to the bodily system that is infected.

How is canine brucellosis spread?

1. Large numbers of Brucella bacteria are shed in the genital secretions (semen or vaginal discharges) of an infected dog. Smaller amounts of bacteria may also be shed in the dog's urine or saliva.
2. After a female dog aborts a pregnancy because of brucellosis, she will continue to discharge fluids infected with the bacteria for 4-6 weeks after the abortion.
3. Dogs are exposed to the disease via contact with infected bodily fluids. Although the most common route of infection is oral (i.e., from licking contaminated urine or discharges from the reproductive tract or licking or chewing placental material or aborted fetuses), dogs can also pick up an infection through sexual transmission, inhalation (sniffing contaminated urine or other discharges), or through other mucous membranes such as the eyes.

How is canine brucellosis diagnosed?

The infection is usually diagnosed by a rapid blood test. The most common blood test is called a rapid slide agglutination test or RAST, and it can detect infections after three to four weeks. This test is used for screening of breeding dogs, and negative tests are reliable unless the dog has been recently exposed to the disease. False-positive tests are relatively common, and any dog that tests positive with the RAST test should have the disease confirmed with an advanced test called an agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID), which will identify infected animals between 12 weeks and 1 year post-infection.

What is the treatment for canine brucellosis?

Although antibiotics (Augmentin, Amixicillin, aminocycline, doxycycline and enrofloxacin) can be used to help control the infection, no treatment is completely effective at eliminating the bacteria, and any dog that has been infected with B. canis should be considered to be infected for life.

Even if the acute infection can be controlled with antibiotics, the dog may shed bacteria intermittently for the rest of its life.

"Any dog that has been infected with B. canis should be considered to be infected for life."

Lieven Gevaert, Gentaur Researcher

Surgical sterilization of the infected dog will decrease shedding of the organisms into the environment, thereby reducing the risk to other dogs.

How can brucellosis be controlled?

1. Brucellosis in dogs is a rare disease in Canada. It is more prevalent in some areas of the United States, such as the southern USA, and in Europe.
2. Since the disease is a major threat to the breeding capability of dogs, all dogs used for breeding purposes should be tested every 12 months.
3. New dogs should never be introduced into a kennel situation until they have been quarantined for 8-12 weeks and then tested for the disease. Most experts recommend performing two blood tests four weeks apart, near the end of the quarantine period.
4. In the United States, brucellosis is a reportable disease, meaning that the disease is of great public health importance, and veterinarians and physicians are required to report all positive cases to federal authorities. Canine brucellosis is not reportable in Canada.

Am I at risk for developing brucellosis from an infected dog?

Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease, or a disease that can be transmitted from animals to humans. Although people can become infected by coming in contact with infected animals, it is uncommon for a person to get a brucellosis infection from a dog.

Breeders and veterinarians exposed to the blood or other secretions of infected animals are at an increased risk of developing an infection; pet owners are not considered to be at risk for infection because they are less likely to come in contact with blood, semen, or uterine discharges from an infected dog.

However, people with compromised immune systems should avoid contact with a dog that is diagnosed with brucellosis.

People who come in contact with breeding dogs, newborn puppies, or aborted fetuses should use caution and practice good sanitation. Whenever possible, wear disposable gloves before handling newborn puppies or cleaning an area where a dog has whelped. After removal of the disposable gloves, wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water and rinse well.

• Brucella BAPA (buffered acidified plate antigen). This serology test detects smooth Brucella spp. such as B. abortus, B. suis and B. melitensis. It will not detect B. canis. This is a good screening test for dogs that intermingle with farm animals. A negative result is usually very reliable. A positive result requires confirmatory testing.
• Brucella canis Tube Agglutination Test. This serology test will detect antibodies to B. canis only. It has a high sensitivity, making it an excellent screening test for Brucella canis. A negative test is usually very reliable. False positives are possible, so all positive results will require a second confirmatory test.
• Brucella PCR. Our PCR test is a two-target, real-time PCR. One will detect all Brucella spp. The second will detect B. canis only, so it can differentiate between B. canis and other Brucella spp. It can detect 2CFU/ml, making it a highly sensitive and specific test. This detection level is approximately 5 times more sensitive than blood culture. This test can be used as both a screening test and a confirmatory test.
• Brucella canis blood culture. Although this is the traditional gold standard diagnostic test for the disease, it is best used only as a confirmatory test. False negative results are possible because of the typically low levels of bacteria in each specimen, intermittent shedding and slow-growing nature of the organism, just to name a few.

Why Brucellosis can be difficult to diagnose?

1. There is not a standard protocol to follow to help guide the diagnostic process in dogs. A good rule of thumb is to use more than one type of test to help increase the chances of detecting Brucella. It can take anywhere from two weeks to several months for titers to become detectable, so performing multiple tests throughout that time period will also help.
2. Antibody titers and bacteremia are usually highest during proestrus, estrus, pregnancy and immediately following abortion in infected female dogs. Testing during those time periods will increase the chances of identifying a dog with brucellosis.

Brucellosis is a reportable disease in most states, including, California, Kansas. State animal health officials can help guide you regarding confirmatory testing recommendations in the event of a positive result with any of the testing methods.

For more information about brucellosis control in breeding kennels, read Best Practices for Brucella canis Prevention and Control in Dog Breeding Facilities.

About Canine Brucellosis

Brucellosis is a facultative, intracellular bacterium. Disease in the male dogs may produce infections of the seminal vesicles and testicles, resulting in shedding of the organisms in semen.

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The Animal Clinics have some specific in-house tests, including the following:

Idexx 4DX Plus- tests for canine Heartworm, Lymes Disease, Anaplasmosis, and Ehrlichiosis
Idexx Triple Test- tests for Feline Leukemia, Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), and feline Heartworm disease
Canine Brucellosis-for pre-breeding in dogs
cPLI Test- tests for specific canine Pancreatitis markers
fPLI Test- tests for feline Pancreatitis markers
Idexx Pro-BNP- tests canine and feline for cardiac disease markers

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