Although frequently suspected in the differential diagnosis of
canine abortion, infection by B. canis is infrequently confirmed
and rarely reported in Canada. We are aware of only 2 previous
cases that were supported by bacteriological confirmation (11).
In both cases, infection was ultimately traced to dogs imported
to Canada from either Mexico or the southern USA. Serological
surveys of dogs in Ontario and Quebec estimate a prevalence
of 0.3% and 1.6%, respectively (12,13). Serosurveys from
western Canadian populations have not been performed. All of
the dogs from this kennel were purchased from other breeders
within Saskatchewan, Alberta, and Ontario. It was not possible
to investigate the origin of these dogs further, as many of the
foundation kennels were no longer in operation. Excluding this
case, a search of the PDS database from 1990 to 2004 showed
that canine brucellosis was tested for serologically on 29 separate
occasions: 1 dog tested positive by IFA, with no bacteria being
isolated from a single blood culture. Between 2000 and 2004,
prostatitis and epididymitis were diagnosed 9 and 4 times,
respectively, from approximately 14 000 canine necropsy and
surgical submissions, with none confirmed as brucellosis.