Reproductive problems in male dogs infected with Brucella canis

Abstract

THIS STUDY WAS CARRIED OUT TO DETERMINE THE INCIDENCE OF BRUCELLA CANIS IN MALE DOGS WITH REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS. FIFTY-SIX DOGS WERE CHOSEN FROM THE PATIENT POPULATION BROUGHT TO THE SMALL ANIMAL HOSPITAL OF THE COLLEGE OF VETERINARY MEDICINE, AT THE NATIONAL AUTONOMOUS UNIVERSITY OF MEXICO. FOR THE CLINICAL REPRODUCTIVE EVALUATION, SEMEN WAS COLLECTED AND A RAPID AGGLUTINATION TEST AND BLOOD CULTURE WERE PERFORMED, AS WELL AS A SEMEN CULTURE. FORTY SERA SAMPLES WERE COLLECTED FROM ANIMALS WITH REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS, ELEVEN FROM DOGS WITH CLINICALLY RELATED PROBLEMS AND 5 FROM DOGS THAT HAD A COMBINATION OF BOTH. SEMEN WAS COLLECTED BY MASTURBATION FROM 41 OF THE 56 DOGS. OF THE 56 DOGS, 24 (42.8%) WERE POSITIVE FOR AGGLUTINATION TEST, 3 (5.3%) WERE POSITIVE IN BLOOD CULTURES, AND ALL SEMEN CULTURES WERE NEGATIVE. THE MAIN REPRODUCTIVE PROBLEMS IN SEROPOSITIVE DOGS WERE: EPIDIDYMITIS, ORCHITIS AND AZOOSPERMIA. IN THE BLOOD CULTURED POSITIVE ANIMALS, THE PROBLEMS WERE TESTICULAR ATROPHY, ORCHITIS AND EPIDIDYMITIS. IN CASES THAT WERE POSITIVE TO SEROLOGY AND BLOOD CULTURE, DISKOSPONDYLITIS WAS PRESENT.