Surgical Replacement Therapy

Pasteurization or boiling of milk would eliminate brucellosis except in those whose work brings them in contact with infected animals or their carcases, and laboratory workers. Complete eradication of the disease in humans depends on its eradication in animals. This has been achieved in Norway as a result of laws which stated that aborting animals must be reported and tested, and that the owner of infected animals must not allow his animals to have a chance of infecting those of other owners. Infected animals were marked and could only leave the farm for slaughter. Methods of eradication must vary according to the veterinary problems of the particular country, but consist essentially of (i) elimination of infected animals (detected by the agglutination test) and (ii) vaccination of animals. In Great Britain, brucellosis does not occur in pigs, goats or sheep. It occurs only in bovines and is almost entirely due to Br. abortus. In bovines, vaccination with an attenuated strain of Br. abortus (Strain I9 or S.i9) has given valuable results.