Does anyone have any experience or knowledge of the above disease? my breeder has just phoned to say a youngster from her first litter has been tested 3 times and each time the result is positive, the test was done as a requirement for the family to take the dog to SA with them, and have been told if they go without her as a positively tested she will be pts, the ripples are the fact that my breeder looked after this dog last christmas for a few weeks and is now concerned that there is an outside chance it could have been transferred to my dogs, her freind up the roads dogs, and all the dogs that were at the SABT appraisal in June, anyone have anything on this they could let me know about that can flag up any reasons for concern?

Thanks
Tracey

This is probably the best non-vet-manual overview I have seen:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1556&aid=404

It sort of condenses what I have read thus far, personally I'm not panicking' but my breeder is racked with guilt she might have passed on a big problem. Thank you and kind regards
Tracey

False positives are fairly common with the test. Make sure before anyone is PTS that the test is run again by a *different lab.* Otherwise my condolences to everyone with infected dogs, the only responsible thing to do IMO is to euthanize once the animal is confirmed a carrier since this can spread to humans. It's not just an STD but that is the easiest way for it to spread so any shared spit/pee swapping is suspect like shared toys, dishes, dirty play yards etc. At one time it was thought that just neutering/spaying a dog would make it a non issue but tests have shown the dog is still capable of spreading the disease.

If it were my problem I'd separate my dogs and have them all tested. Any that tested positive would be tested again by another lab. I'd probably test everyone again in six months.

I wondered about the spit thing, as the article only mentioned urine and sexual contact as a way of spreading.

Do you have any articles that confirm that it can spread through saliva Melissa, or Connie?

 Quote: niomi smith

I wondered about the spit thing, as the article only mentioned urine and sexual contact as a way of spreading.

Do you have any articles that confirm that it can spread through saliva Melissa, or Connie?

http://www.cfsph.iastate.edu/Factsheets/pdfs/brucellosis_canis.pdf

Scroll to "transmission."

" .... B. canis is also found in urine, and low concentrations of bacteria may be
excreted in saliva, nasal and ocular secretions, and feces. "

Thanks for that link Connie, the owners of the dog in question have said the bitch hasn't been covered by accident or design, they say that they take her to the local park and she is allowed off lead and that the possibility is she has licked or ingested infected urine or feces, this is all new to me, I thought I had read somewhere about it being present in badgers, but I see from reading up on it that isn't the case, my breeder is having her dogs tested today, and is going straight for the test that the vet says is the only one that gives a true positive, I can't remember what that test is called but she doesn't want to mess about with the usual prelim tests that can give false positive/negative, if it does prove to be positive the ramifications are going to be huge, especially as the breed is still relatively new to the UK and there have been careful and heavily monitored breeding programmes in place for the last ten years in an attempt to reduce HD and ED, and produce pups with stable temperaments, but my breeeders biggest concern is her heavily pregnant neice and her 86 year old mother, scary stuff.
Tracey

Well the govt department here are investigating the possible source here, but the fate of this poor dog seems pretty much sealed unless there is any miraculous news in the next 48 hours, they emigrate on Friday and the chances are they won't be taking their dog with them, the SA law is rigid, and while I completely acknowledge that is right, it doesn't take away the awful sadness this family is enduring, the really scary thing is, the only reason the dog was tested is because they are emigrating, we would never have known otherwise, keeping everything crossed for the rest of the dogs, including my own that it hasn't been passed on.

Well for once there appears there is a god, Tulani's fourth and final test came back negative, which of course is fantastic news for the family and all concerned, it seems a bit unfair that instead of doing the only conclusive test first, they did the 1,2 and 3 tests that 'can give false negative/positive' in their stead, factor in the cost of the quarantine kenneling, the paper work between govt departments and bob's your uncle, a huge bill and a week of gut wrenching anxiety, guilt and fear you had potentially destroyed breeding lines carefully and painstakingly selected with the intention of trying to eradicate bad breeding practices gone before, of course I KNOW why they do all these tests, no country in the world is going to want a diseased animal brought in, and our strict, (some say draconian and heavy handed) quarantine laws have prevented rabies in the uk, but why, if there is a conclusive test available don't the vets use that first off?? maybe someone out there has a rational and legitimate answer, in which case I humbly apologise, but I think too much money can be made out of peoples love and devotion to their animals!

Sorry, rant over, and yay! for Tulani and her family, safe journey and a happy life in SA.

Tracey

Cost is a primary reason. A fair number of vets haven't dealt with c-b enough to know there is another test or know about the possibility of false positives being a problem with the lab they are allied with.

I'm glad this turned out to a good result.

BTW this is one of the best resources I've found on cb.
http://www.italian-greyhound.net/brucellosis.htm