Brucellosis- have you heard about it and do you know the implications?

We recently had a lovely, sweet dog that has been imported from Romania which prompted the conversation about Brucellosis. The owners were aware their dog had been tested prior to import (thankfully!) but didn’t really know much else about the disease.

There has been a huge rise in imported dogs, and with it, an increased risk of importing diseases that we have previously not seen in the UK. Brucellosis is just one of them……

So what is Brucellosis and what do you need to know about it?

Brucellosis is a very serious bacterial infection that affects the reproductive system and, importantly, can be transmitted to humans.

Brucella canis is the type of Brucellosis that infects dogs and that has subsequently been found in humans. Brucella abortus can infect cows but this is not currently found in the UK.

There are countries, mainly in Eastern Europe, that are particularly high risk of Brucellosis, Romania being one of them and we see lot of dogs being imported from Romania…..

The scary thing about Brucellosis is that a dog can be infected (and subsequently pass on the infection to other dogs and humans) and they might not show any symptoms at all. The symptoms they can show are infertility, pregnancy loss, swollen testicles, lameness, fever, lethargy, back pain and swollen lymph nodes.

The bacteria is mainly caught from mating with infected animals, passed from mother to pups, any contact with semen, vaginal fluids, even blood, urine and faeces and saliva. The risk to the general public is low but for the staff working at vets it is higher especially if the dog is being neutered as it involves handling the reproductive tissue.

As of 7^th October 2025 all dogs coming to the UK from Romania need to be tested for Brucellosis at a UK lab and the dog then must travel within 30 days of the blood sample being taken. Two tests are performed and if either is positive then dog will not be allowed to enter the country.

Prior to this date testing was not mandatory but some rescue centres did still test for it prior to importing. Please ring us if you have any concerns your imported dog might not have had any tests or if you’d like to discuss testing for Brucellosis in further detail.

If your dog is in this country and tests positive for Brucellosis then DEFRA must be informed as Brucellosis is a notifiable disease. Unfortunately euthanasia is recommended for positive cases due to the inability to cure dogs of the infection and as an attempt to protect other dogs and people from getting infected. Owners can chose to treat the infection which involves neutering, multiple courses of antibiotics and implementing a lifestyle designed to limit and restrict access to other dogs and people but they are never fully cured from the infection. Humans can be successfully treated once diagnosed.