Brucellosis in takins, china

TO THE EDITOR: Brucellosis is a highly contagious bacterial disease and one of the world's major zoonoses. It is responsible for enormous economic losses in livestock, and it threatens human health and wildlife populations (1). In most host species, brucellosis primarily affects the reproductive system, leading to concomitant loss in productivity of affected animals (1). Brucellae have been found in wildlife, such as bison, elk, and wild boar, potentially posing a threat for zoonosis (2). Currently, the genus Brucella comprises 10 species, which are divided according to host specificity and ability to cause chronic infections in human and animals (3,4). Most Brucella species are associated primarily with certain hosts, presumably the result of evolutionary adaptation to a successful host. Brucella melitensis is the species most pathogenic in humans and the species most commonly involved in ovine and caprine brucellosis.