Canine brucellosis in a household

Three cases of canine brucellosis from the same household were discovered during a serosurvey of privately owned dogs. One dog was found to be seropositive and culture-positive, 1 dog was seropositive, and 1 dog had suspect test results, with eye lesions suggestive of Brucella canis infection. All dogs had signs seen with B canis infection, but none was pathognomonic. Although pathologic findings in 2 of the dogs were consistent with findings reported by other investigators, none was conclusive for brucellosis. The 2-mercaptoethanol tube agglutination test was utilized as the diagnostic test.