BRUCELLOSIS: Zoonotic diseases

In this week's article, we look at the dangers of brucellosis.

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Brucellosis is a zoonotic infection caused by the bacterial genus Brucella. Like all zoonoses, brucellosis can be transmitted from infected animals to humans. Brucellosis is also known as Mediterranean fever, Malta fever, gastric remittent fever, undulant fever, contagious abortion and Bang’s disease. Animals that are most commonly infected include sheep, cattle, goats, pigs and dogs.

There are many sub-types of the Brucella genus, with B. abortus most common in cattle, B. melitensis and B. ovis most common in sheep and goats and B. suis most common in pigs (see table).

ANIMALS

Brucellosis is most commonly not a fatal disease, with the mortality rate low. However, the disease can do great damage to animals in terms of their production or production potential, with decreased milk production, weight loss, abortion, infertility and lameness all possible side effects from the disease. The disease is also highly contagious, making it a threat to herds and flocks. According to the State of New Jersey Department of Agriculture (SNJDA), animals can be infected through direct contact with other infected animals, or with an environment that has been contaminated with discharge, such as afterbirth, aborted foetuses and other fluids, from infected animals. A healthy animal can become infected through the licking or consumption of these infected discharges.