disease vary widely from country to country,
bovine brucellosis caused mainly by B. abortus is
still the most widespread form (Tables 1-5). In
humans, ovine/caprine brucellosis caused by B.
melitensis is by far the most important clinically
apparent disease. The disease has a limited
geographic distribution, but remains a major
problem in the Mediterranean region, wes-tern
Asia, and parts of Africa and Latin America.
Recent reemergence in Malta and Oman indicates
the difficulty of eradicating this infection (1).
Sheep and goats and their products remain the
main source of infection, but B. melitensis in
cattle has emerged as an important problem in
some southern European countries, Israel, Kuwait,
and Saudi Arabia. B. melitensis infection is
particularly problematic because B. abortus vaccines
do not protect effectively against B. melitensis
infection; the B. melitensis Rev.1. vaccine
has not been fully evaluated for use in cattle.
Thus, bovine B. melitensis infection is emerging
as an increasingly serious public health problem
in some countries. A related problem has been
noted in some South American countries, particularly
Brazil and Colombia, where B. suis
biovar 1 has become established in cattle (2). In
some areas, cattle are now more important than
pigs as a source of human infection.