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Short answer: Brucellosis is a bacterial disease of cattle and buffalo whose hallmark sign is abortion in the last third of pregnancy, usually followed by retained placenta, metritis and long-term infertility. There is no practical cure — an infected animal stays a lifelong carrier and sheds bacteria that also infect people. Control therefore rests entirely on one-time calfhood vaccination of female calves, strict handling of aborted material, testing before purchase, and never drinking unboiled milk.
Brucellosis in cattle and buffalo is caused by the bacterium Brucella abortus. It settles in the pregnant uterus and udder, and is shed in enormous numbers in the aborted foetus, the placenta and uterine discharges. Other animals pick it up by licking or sniffing contaminated ground, bedding or afterbirth, or by drinking contaminated water.
What makes brucellosis different from most other herd diseases is that treatment is not a realistic option. Antibiotics rarely clear the organism from the udder and reproductive tract, so a treated animal usually remains infected and infectious. This is why every serious brucellosis programme in the world is built on vaccination, testing and culling rather than on medicine.
Brucellosis is a zoonosis. In people it causes undulant fever — recurring fever, heavy sweating, joint and back pain, and long-lasting fatigue that is often misdiagnosed for months. Farmers, milkers, veterinarians and people who assist at calving are the highest-risk group, and infection also spreads through raw or unpasteurised milk and fresh soft cheese. Anyone who handles an aborted foetus or placenta with bare hands is taking a genuine personal risk.
A single abortion can have many causes. What should trigger immediate investigation is a cluster of late-term abortions across several animals within a few weeks, especially in a herd that has recently bought in animals. Report this to your veterinarian without delay.
Diagnosis is by laboratory testing, not by appearance. Your veterinarian can arrange serological tests such as the Rose Bengal Plate Test as a screening test, with ELISA or the Serum Agglutination Test for confirmation. Milk from the bulk tank can also be screened. Vaccinated animals may show antibodies, so interpretation needs veterinary input and an accurate vaccination record. Brucellosis is a notifiable disease — suspected cases must be reported to the local animal husbandry authority.
Calfhood vaccination is the backbone of control. Under India's National Animal Disease Control Programme, all female calves of cattle and buffalo are vaccinated once with Brucella abortus Strain 19 (S19) between four and eight months of age, giving long-lasting protection from a single dose. Key points:
This is the step most often skipped, and it is the one that spreads the disease.
Once the cause has been investigated by a veterinarian, the animal that has aborted still needs proper uterine care, whatever the cause turned out to be. Retained placenta and metritis are common after abortion, and both damage future fertility if they are neglected. Veterinary treatment comes first: retained membranes and uterine infection need professional assessment and, where indicated, prescribed medication.
Alongside that treatment, Cattle Remedies uterine tonics are used to support uterine involution and cleansing during recovery — Uterotone 3-in-1, Uterotone Liquid and Uterotone DS. Because an aborting animal has also had her metabolism disrupted, a herbal liver tonic such as Heprich and the chelated mineral mixture Verymin can support appetite and general recovery. For a comparison of the options, see our guide to the best cattle uterine tonic in India.
To be completely clear: no supplement prevents, treats or cures brucellosis. Only vaccination, testing, culling and biosecurity control this disease. Supportive products help an animal recover condition and uterine health after an abortion — they do nothing about the bacteria.
Not effectively. The bacteria hide inside cells in the udder and reproductive tract where antibiotics struggle to reach, so treated animals almost always remain lifelong carriers and keep shedding infection. Testing and removal of positive animals, not treatment, is the recommended approach — discuss the right course for your herd with your veterinarian and local animal husbandry department.
Not raw. Infected cows shed Brucella in milk, and drinking raw milk is one of the main ways people catch the disease. Boiling or proper pasteurisation destroys the organism. As a general rule on any dairy farm, milk should never be consumed raw.
Not necessarily. Late-term abortion also results from other infections, nutritional problems and physical injury. But brucellosis must be ruled out by laboratory test, particularly if the abortion happened in the last trimester or if more than one animal is affected. Report it and let your veterinarian arrange testing.
This article is general educational guidance for livestock owners and is not a substitute for veterinary diagnosis. Brucellosis is a notifiable zoonotic disease — report suspected cases to your local veterinary authority, and see a doctor if you develop recurring fever after contact with an aborting animal.
