Brucella melitensis is transmitted to humans from sheep and goats, Brucella abortus is transmitted from cattle, and Brucella suis from pigs. It's also spread to humans through direct or indirect contact with the infected animals. In some marine mammals, two Brucella species have been isolated, these are:
- Brucella ceti
- Brucella pinnipedialis
A few human cases of brucellosis have been reported with these marine species of Brucella.
In the UK, brucellosis has effectively been wiped out from cattle, goats, sheep and pigs. This has been through:
- vaccination of animals
- testing and slaughter of infected herds
- pasteurisation of milk
When infection does happen, it's usually through:
- consumption of unpasteurised milk from infected animals
- consumption of unpasteurised milk products such as cheese from infected animals
- eating raw meat from infected animals
- direct contact with infected animals
- inhalation of dust on farms with infected animals, in abattoirs or laboratories
Information about the symptoms of brucellosis is available on the NHS website.
Publications
Read the Public Health England risk assessment by the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group on the zoonitic potential of marine mammal Brucella species.
Data and surveillance
Surveillance reports
Read our latest surveillance report for zoonotic disease including Brucella
Data tables
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brucella (other) | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Brucella abortus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brucella melitensis | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Brucella species | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
* 2020 data remains provisional
Data source: Public Health Scotland