The epidemiological link between brucellosis in wildlife and brucellosis in livestock
and people is widely recognised. When studying brucellosis in wildlife, three
questions arise: (i) Is this the result of a spillover from livestock or a sustainable
infection in one or more host species of wildlife? (ii) Does wildlife brucellosis
represent a reservoir of Brucella strains for livestock? (iii) Is it of zoonotic
concern? Despite their different host preferences, B. abortus and B. suis have
been isolated from a variety of wildlife species, whereas B. melitensis is rarely
reported in wildlife. The pathogenesis of Brucella spp. in wildlife reservoirs is not
yet fully defi ned. The prevalence of brucellosis in some wildlife species is very low
and thus the behaviour of individual animals, and interactions between wildlife
and livestock, may be the most important drivers for transmission. Since signs of
the disease are non-pathognomonic, defi nitive diagnosis depends on laboratory
testing, including indirect tests that can be applied to blood or milk, as well as
direct tests (classical bacteriology and methods based on the polymerase chain
reaction [PCR]). However, serological tests cannot determine which Brucella
species has induced anti-Brucella antibodies in the host. Only the isolation of
Brucella spp. (or specifi c DNA detection by PCR) allows a defi nitive diagnosis,
using classical or molecular techniques to identify and type specifi c strains.
There is as yet no brucellosis vaccine that demonstrates satisfactory safety and
effi cacy in wildlife. Therefore, controlling brucellosis in wildlife should be based
on good management practices. At present, transmission of Brucella spp. from
wildlife to humans seems to be linked to the butchering of meat and dressing of
infected wild or feral pig carcasses in the developed world, and infected African
buffalo in the developing world. In the Arctic, the traditional consumption of raw
bone marrow and the internal organs of freshly killed caribou or reindeer is an
important risk factor.bacteriologyBrucella sppBrucellosisEpidemiologyLivestock/wildlife interfaceSerologyWildlifePublishe
