Wild animals as reservoirs of Brucella

Diagnosis of animal brucellosis in most countries has been carried out for many gears and deals predominantly with domestic animals. Thanks to eradication programmes and monitoring, the scale of infections caused by Brucella micro-organisms has been considerably reduced and some countries are considered to be officially free front brucellosis. Nonetheless, many investigators stress that populations of wild animals act as reservoirs of brucellosis and sources of infection for domestic animals and humans. Infection from wild to domestic animals is transmitted by direct contact or a contaminated environment. Humans can be infected Brucella through being in contact with wild animals and while handling, skinning and eviscerating the carasses of shot animals or eating undercooked meat. From the epidemiological point of view it is important to test wild animals for brucellosis. The data obtained facilitates a better understanding of how to diagnose the disease and possible reasons for it spreading to domestic animals and infecting humans. This is an extremely important factor in prophylactics and eradicating brucellosis in animals and humans.