Brucella Canis Advice for Private Veterinary Practitioners

Advice on Brucella canis (B. canis) has been reviewed in the UK by several agencies. This advice can be found at the following links:

• Canine brucellosis: summary information sheet for veterinary staff - GOV.UK
• Brucella canis testing FAQ - GOV.UK
• Brucella canis: information for the public and dog owners - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
• HAIRS risk assessment: Brucella canis - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Please see below the points that are relevant/applicable to Northern Ireland:

In Northern Ireland (NI), B. canis is notifiable under the Specified Diseases (Notification) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004 - please see the following link: Specified Diseases (Notification) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004 (legislation.gov.uk)

Private Veterinary Practitioners should notify DAERA by contacting their local Divisional Veterinary Office.  Each notification will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, and we will provide veterinary advice, if necessary. We will also liaise with colleagues in Public Health Agency who will make an assessment on both the vet involved and owner(s). The PHA for NI can be contacted on 0330 555 0114.

To date only a small number of suspect cases have been reported to DAERA in NI and all have been detected in imported dogs. However, the number of cases of B. canis cases in GB have been increasing since 2020.The majority of these cases are in imported dogs. Some dogs born in GB have been diagnosed with B. canis but these have epidemiological links to an imported dog (e.g. through mating, being exposed to infected birthing material or by being the offspring of an imported dog).

There have been a small number of human B.canis cases in UK but there have been none in NI.