Brucellosis is a major public health concern worldwide, especially for persons living in resource-limited settings. Historically, an evidence-based estimate of the global annual incidence of human cases has been elusive. We used international public health data to fill this information gap through application of risk metrics to worldwide and regional at-risk populations.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBacteria of the genus Brucella are facultative intracellular parasites that cause brucellosis, a severe animal and human disease. Recently, a group of taxonomists merged the brucellae with the primarily free-living, phylogenetically related spp. in the genus Brucella.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFspecies are considered a significant cause of reproductive pathology in male and female animals. Importantly, can induce reproductive disease in humans. Reproductive pathogenesis and evaluation of newly developed countermeasures against brucellosis studies have traditionally utilized female animal models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis the cause of canine brucellosis, a globally distributed, zoonotic pathogen which primarily causes disease in dogs. is unique amongst the zoonotic spp. with its rough lipopolysaccharide, a trait typically associated with attenuation in gram-negative bacteria.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: For decades, human brucellosis has been recognized worldwide as a significant cause of morbidity, yet the annual incidence of this disease remains unknown. We analyzed this frequency, using international reports (2005-2019), identifying information gaps, and distinguishing a possible path forward.
Methodology/principal Findings: A novel approach to estimating the incidence of this disease was explored.
is a facultatively intracellular bacterial pathogen and the cause of worldwide zoonotic infections, infamous for its ability to evade the immune system and persist chronically within host cells. Despite the frequent association with attenuation in other Gram-negative bacteria, a rough lipopolysaccharide phenotype is retained by and , which remain fully virulent in their natural canine and ovine hosts, respectively. While these natural rough strains lack the O-polysaccharide they, like their smooth counterparts, are able to evade and manipulate the host immune system by exhibiting low endotoxic activity, resisting destruction by complement and antimicrobial peptides, entering and trafficking within host cells along a similar pathway, and interfering with MHC-II antigen presentation.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAn innovative training program entitled "AgSecure Africa Programme was developed in partnership with the South African Agricultural Research Council-Onderstepoort Veterinary Research (ARC-OVR) to train veterinarians, animal health technicians, researchers and laboratory personnel. Three blended courses consisting of both virtual and in-person delivery were provided with the intent of contributing to the better prevention, detection and control of infectious diseases of livestock and poultry of significant importance for the region with a strong emphasis on transboundary animal diseases. A "train the trainer" model of instruction was employed to equip participants with the ability to train and share knowledge with colleagues and small-holder farmers in their various communities and regions.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBabesiosis is a worldwide, tick-borne disease of economic importance in livestock caused by spp., which are hemoparasitic piroplasms that target the host erythrocytes. Cattle, dogs, small ruminants, and wild ruminants are the species most commonly affected, while in cats, horses, and pigs, it is less frequently reported.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Vet Diagn Invest
March 2021
In male dogs, frequently causes epididymitis, ultimately resulting in testicular atrophy and infertility. Although predominantly affects the epididymis, the misleading term "orchitis" is still commonly used by clinicians. Of additional concern, diagnosis in dogs remains challenging because of variable sensitivity and specificity of serologic assays and fluctuations in bacteremia levels in infected dogs, reducing the sensitivity of blood culture.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSmall ruminant brucellosis is caused by the Gram negative cocci-bacillus Brucella (B.) melitensis, the most virulent Brucella species for humans. In goats and sheep, middle to late-term gestation abortion, stillbirths and the delivery of weak infected offspring are the characteristic clinical signs of the disease.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrucellosis is a zoonotic disease known to be endemic to parts of western and sub-Saharan Africa. However, the epidemiology for humans and animals remains largely unknown in many of these countries with Cameroon being a typical example. Despite common knowledge that brucellosis affects livestock, the actual number of infected animals remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStealthy intracellular bacterial pathogens are known to establish persistent and sometimes lifelong infections. Some of these pathogens also have a tropism for the reproductive system, thereby increasing the risk of reproductive disease and infertility. To date, the pathogenic mechanism involved remains poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFReproductive failure is the hallmark of brucellosis in animals. An uncommon but important complication in pregnant women who become acutely infected with is spontaneous pregnancy loss or vertical transmission to the fetus. Unfortunately, the mechanism behind reproductive failure is still obscure, partially due to the lack of a proper study model.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrucellosis is a bacterial endemic zoonotic disease of global significance with detrimental impacts on public health and food animal production. It is caused by Brucella spp., an expanding group of pathogens able to infect various host species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFis a Gram-negative, facultative intracellular bacterium and the causative agent of canine brucellosis, a highly contagious disease of dogs that can be transmitted to humans. Unfortunately, no vaccine is available to prevent infection. We recently characterized the kinetics of infection in the mouse model, establishing the required dose necessary to achieve systemic infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAs a natural host species for , pregnant sheep offer an ideal model to evaluate vaccine candidates for safety. strain Rev. 1 has been used almost exclusively to prevent brucellosis in small ruminants, but it causes abortions when given to pregnant animals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe scientific evidence of the health risks associated with the consumption of raw milk has been known for a long time. However, less clear is the impact of acquiring infectious diseases from raw milk consumption in the United States (US) due to incomplete reporting of cases and the complex factors associated with the sale and consumption of raw milk. Investigations of this current study focused on human brucellosis, one of the infectious diseases commonly acquired through the consumption of raw milk and milk products, and which continues to be a public health threat worldwide.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransboundary animal diseases (TADs) are livestock diseases characterized as highly contagious, fast-spreading, and capable of producing high morbidity and mortality. Accidental or intentional introduction of these diseases into the United States could devastate the economy, food security, and public health. Training of researchers, scientists and animal health workers is often limited to prevention and diagnosis with little emphasis on the importance of translating knowledge to the development of new products for the prevention, detection and control of outbreaks.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProlonged exposure to water, known as immersion foot syndrome in humans, is a phenomenon first described in soldiers during World War I and characterized by dermal ischemic necrosis. In this report, we describe the pathologic findings of a condition resembling immersion foot syndrome in 5 horses and 1 donkey with prolonged floodwater exposure during Hurricane Harvey. At necropsy, all animals had dermal defects ventral to a sharply demarcated "water line" along the lateral trunk.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOsteoarticular disease is a frequent complication of human brucellosis. Vaccination remains a critical component of brucellosis control, but there are currently no vaccines for use in humans, and no models for assessing the safety of candidate vaccines in reference to the development of bone lesions currently exist. While the effect of infection on osteoblasts has been extensively evaluated, little is known about the consequences of osteoclast infection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrucellosis is a zoonosis of nearly worldwide distribution. The disease is considered to be endemic in most of the developing countries with a substantial impact on both human and animal health as well as on the economy. The aim of this scoping review is to provide an overview of the brucellosis status in Colombia and the factors associated with its persistence, to highlight the strengths and gaps of the adopted countermeasures and to supply evidence to policy-makers on the best approaches to mitigate the disease burden.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrucellosis in swine is caused by a bacterial infection of nearly worldwide distribution. is also transmissible to humans, dogs and cattle and is considered a reemerging disease of public health concern. To date, there is no effective vaccine for swine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCanine brucellosis, caused by Brucella canis, is a disease of dogs and represents a public health concern as it can be transmitted to humans. Canine brucellosis is on the rise in the United States and there is currently no vaccine for use in dogs. Mice have been extensively utilized to investigate host-pathogen interactions and vaccine candidates for smooth Brucella species and could serve a similar role for studying B.
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