Skip to main content
ARS Home » Midwest Area » Ames, Iowa » National Animal Disease Center » Infectious Bacterial Diseases Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #303878
Title: The quest for a true One Health perspective of brucellosis

Author
item GODFROID, J - The University Of Tromsø
item DEBOLLE, X - University Of Namur
item ROOP, R - East Carolina University
item OCALLAGHAN, D - University Of Montpellier
item TSOLIS, R - University Of California
item BALDWIN, C - University Of Massachusetts
item SANTOS, R - Federal University - Brazil
item MCGIVEN, J - Veterinary Laboratories Agency (VLA)
item Olsen, Steven
item NYMO, I - The University Of Tromsø
item LARSEN, A - The University Of Tromsø
item DAHOUK, S - Federal Institute For Risk Assessment
item LETESSON, J - University Of Namur

Submitted to: World Organization for Animal Health Scientific and Technical Review
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/20/2014
Publication Date: 10/6/2014
Citation: Godfroid, J., Debolle, X., Roop, R.M., Ocallaghan, D., Tsolis, R., Baldwin, C., Santos, R.L., Mcgiven, J., Olsen, S.C., Nymo, I., Larsen, A., Dahouk, S.A., Letesson, J.J. 2014. The quest for a true One Health perspective of brucellosis. World Organization for Animal Health Scientific and Technical Review. 33(2):521-538.

Interpretive Summary: Brucella spp are intracellular pathogens that cause reproductive losses in domestic livestock and also cause zoonotic infections in people. Because of their importance as human and animal pathogens, they are an excellent fit into the “One Health” initiative in which disease control activities are coordinated between veterinary and human medicine. Regulatory programs in domestic livestock, which include vaccination of livestock, are the most cost-efficient way to control brucellosis and prevent human infection. In this manuscript, we describe current knowledge regarding the pathogen, pathogenesis of infection and disease, and clinical disease and lesions associated with infection. This information will be of interest to human clinicians, scientists, regulatory personnel, people with responsibilities related to brucellosis, livestock owners, and other parties with interests regarding zoonotic diseases of livestock.

Technical Abstract: One Health is an interdisciplinary collaboration aiming at mitigating risks to human health arising from microorganisms present in non-human animal species, which have the potential to be transmitted and cause disease in humans. Different degrees of scientific collaboration and sectoral integration are needed for different types of zoonotic diseases, depending on health and associated economic gains to be expected from a One Health approach. Indeed, mitigating zoonotic risks related to emerging diseases with pandemic potential is conceptually different from mitigating approaches related to endemic zoonotic diseases like brucellosis. Likewise, management of brucellosis at the wildlife-livestock-interface in wildlife conservation areas is in essence different from mitigating transmission of a given Brucella species within its preferential host species, which in turn is different from mitigating the spillover of a given Brucella species to non-preferential host species, humans included. Brucellosis economic models often oversimplify and/or wrongly assess transmission between reservoir hosts and spillover hosts. As a result, uncertainty is such that these models may become questionable in terms of expected economic gain, notwithstanding that non-market outcome such as avoidance of human disease, consumer confidence and conservation biology issues also need to be properly valued. Therefore, understanding the infection biology of Brucella species is a prerequisite. This manuscript reviews and highlights important features of the infection biology of Brucella species and the changing epidemiology of brucellosis that need to be integrated in true One Health brucellosis perspectives.