Table 2.

Bacteria associated with sheep and with minor zoonotic potential via milk or products made thereof.

Agent	Explanation of the possible risk for humans
Bacillus anthracis (spore forming Gram-positive rod)	Human cases are mainly associated with contact with slaughtered of dead or succumbing animals, but food infections (meat) are possible. Milk is not considered as a vehicle (AFSSA, 2008; EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Bacillus cereus (spore forming Gram-positive rod)	Contaminates milk via environment. Associated (in EU) with milk from bovine animals, donkeys and horses, not with milk from small ruminants (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Chlamydia abortus (Gram negative)	Human cases mainly associated after direct or indirect contact with shedding sheep and goats in the periparturient period. The pathogen is not considered to be transmissible via milk (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Clostridium spp. (spore forming anaerobic Gram-positive rod)	Several species have zoonotic potential. In milk or cheese, clostridial spores don’t germinate and cells don’t replicate. Numbers necessary to cause illness are not reached (Turchi et al., 2016; Drouin and Lafrenière, 2012). Milk is not considered as a vehicle (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Corynebacterium spp. (Gram-positive rod)	Infection is mainly labor-related (cutaneous infection) (Peel et al., 1997). Milk is a very rare transmission route for C. pseudotuberculosis (Claeys et al., 2013).
Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (Gram-positive rod)	Humans are generally infected by direct contact with animals or animal products (Brooke and Riley, 1999). The pathogen is not considered to be transmissible via milk (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Helicobacter spp. (Gram-negative spirochaete)	Cause gastric infections in humans. H. pylori is found in sheep milk (Verraes et al., 2014). The role as zoonotic agent is under debate. The pathogen is not considered to be transmissible via milk (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (acid fast rod)	Suggested cause of Crohn’s disease, however not conclusive (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2013a). The zoonotic risk of this pathogen remains under debate. The pathogen is not considered to be transmissible via milk (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).
Mycobacterium bovis (acid fast rod)	Mainly associated with cows. Experimentally infected sheep shed in milk (Keyhani, 1970). Raw milk or raw milk cheese are possible routes of transmission.
Streptococcus spp. (Gram-positive coccus)	For some pathogenic species, food is a known transmission route. Infections caused by consumption of raw milk and dairy products containing S. equi subs. zooepidemicus are rare and mainly related to cow milk (Barrett, 1986; EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015; Eyre et al., 2010; Steward et al., 2017).
Yersinia spp. (Gram-negative rod)	Although Y. enterocolitica is present in sheep in Europe (Van Engelen et al., 2014), only Y. pseudotuberculosis is considered a hazard of low risk in Europe in relation to milk from small ruminants (EFSA BIOHAZ Panel, 2015).