| Description |
Bovine brucellosis is usually caused by Brucella abortus, less frequently by B. melitensis, and occasionally by B. suis. Infection is widespread globally. Brucella melitensis (biovars 1, 2 or 3) is the main causative agent of caprine and ovine brucellosis. Brucella melitensis is highly pathogenic for humans, causing Malta fever, one of the most serious zoonoses in the world. Brucellosis in pigs is caused by Brucella suis, a bacterial infection that, after an initial bacteraemia, causes chronic inflammatory lesions in the reproductive organs of both sexes, with occasional localisation and lesions in other tissues. The species Brucella suis consists of five biovars, but the infection in pigs is caused by B. suis biovars 1, 2 or 3. |