The emergence of as a public health threat in Europe: what we know and what we need to learn.

The zoonotic bacteria, , is becoming the leading cause of canine brucellosis in Europe. In dogs, it causes reproductive problems as well as non-specific lameness or discospondilitis. In humans, can be origin of chronic debilitating conditions characteristic to its genus such as undulant fever, splenomegaly, and lymphadenopathy. Although shows some pathogenic characteristics similar to and , it lacks surface O-polysaccharide, like nonzoonotic . This review shows that host- interactions are still poorly understood, with many knowledge and capability gaps, causing relatively poor sensitivity and specificity of existing diagnostic tools. Currently, there is no vaccine for this rough species. Besides, antimicrobial therapy does not guarantee bacterial elimination, and infection relapses are frequently reported, increasing the risks of antibiotic resistance development. has been detected in dogs in almost all European countries which increased human exposure, but currently there is no systematic surveillance. Moreover, caused brucellosis is not included in Animal Health Law, and therefore there is no legal framework to tackle this emerging infectious disease. To map out the diagnostic strategies, identify risks for human infections and propose management scheme for infected pet and kennel dogs, we present current understanding of canine caused brucellosis, outline major knowledge gaps and propose future steps. To address and highlight challenges veterinary and public health services encounter in Europe, we developed two infection scenarios: of a single household pet and of a kennel dog in larger group.