Antibodies produced by dogs successfully challenged with live Leptospira spp. did not cross-react to Brucella antigen in a commercial rapid slide agglutination test that detects antibodies to Brucella canis

Abstract

Brief CommunicationBrucella canis is a small gram-negative intracellular bacterium, and the dog is its reservoir host. 2,12 B. canis may cause embryonic loss, abortion, epididymitis, orchitis, and prostatitis; however, many dogs are asymptomatic carriers of the bacteria and therefore are potential sources of infection to susceptible dogs. 2,12 B. canis is antigenically most similar to B. ovis and differs from 3 other Brucella spp.-B. abortus, melitensis, and suis-that may rarely infect dogs. 2,12 These 3 species grow in smooth colonies rather than rough or mucoid colonies, the latter of which are characteristic of B. canis and B. ovis (http://www.nasphv.org/Documents/BrucellaCanisI-nHumans.pdf). Colony appearance is attributable to smooth or rough lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of the respective cell walls of Brucella spp., which is the primary antigenic epitope of serologic tests for Brucella. 8