Second case of Brucella canis in the UK
'The case highlights again the need for veterinary professionals to be alert to the possibility of potentially zoonotic B canis in dogs.'
The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) has confirmed a second UK case of Brucella canis in a dog imported from Eastern Europe.
A male dog, aged around five months, was imported from Bosnia in November 2015 and presented with reluctance to move, stilted hindlimb gait and intermittent lameness in October last year.
After two positive results on serological testing for B canis in March 2017, the APHA confirmed B canis by phenotypic and molecular approaches. Writing in Vet Record letters, the APHA said the dog is undergoing an eight-week course of doxycycline, with a good response so far.
This case is the second to be confirmed in the UK this year. A rescue dog imported from Romania and adopted in January 2016 was later presented to a veterinary practice in Leicestershire. It was showing intermittent signs of pain when rising from a sitting position and lesions consistent with diskospondylitis were detected via radiography.
Signs resolved after antibiotic treatment but recurred after treatment stopped, with a gradual deterioration of the dog’s overall health. Earlier this year, testing at APHA Weybridge confirmed B canis.
The organism was not previously thought to be present in the UK.
APHA wrote in Vet Record: ‘The case highlights again the need for veterinary professionals to be alert to the possibility of potentially zoonotic B canis in dogs, and particularly in imported animals, with reproductive or chronic inflammatory disease.’
The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is inviting applications from veterinary students to attend a one-week extramural studies (EMS) placement in July 2026.
