Figure 1.

Susceptibility of domestic small ruminants to B. melitensis and B. ovis infection. B. melitensis cause abortion, stillbirths and the birth of weak offspring in goats and sheep (solid arrow); and less commonly, epididymo-orchitis in bucks and rams (dashed arrow). Moreover, B. ovis affect rams almost exclusively (solid arrow), causing epididymitis and occasionally abortions in ewes and an increase in perinatal death (dashed arrow). In addition to sheep and goats, B. melitensis has a wide range of natural susceptible host species, including humans. Other than domestic sheep, B. ovis has only been isolated from naturally-acquired infections of farmed red deer (Cervus elaphus), but experimental infections have been established in goats, Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis canadensis) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus).