By email
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx Our ref: 20/05/24/JS/90
17 June 2024
Dear Dr Buckley,
Re: Freedom of Information request - Brucella canis
Thank you for your request received on 20 May 2024 addressed to the UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA).
Request
1. How many cases of human brucellosis, derived from Canine Brucellosis, have
been diagnosed in a UK-based citizen (any age) in each of the following
years:
- 2023
- 2024 (01.01.2024 - 20.05.2024)
1. Please indicate how many of these cases involved.
i. Children under the age of 5 years,
ii. Pregnant women
iii. immunocompromised people
iv. veterinary professionals or other people working within a veterinary practice iiv.
laboratory workers working with human and / or animal bodily tissues/samples/fluids.
2. Of these, how many were diagnosed because they:
i. Had clinical signs (+/- known exposure to a Brucella canis positive dog)?
ii. Were detected on screening due to known exposure to a Brucella canis positive
(antibodies, antigen, PCR, culture) dog?
3. How many of these human cases required pharmaceutical treatment due to
clinical signs? (please split by categories shown in 1.)
4. How many of the human cases that did NOT have clinical signs were given
pharmaceutical treatment? (please split by categories shown in 1.).
5. How many of these human cases required inpatient/hospitalisation as part of the
treatment?
6. How many of these cases resulted in the death of the individual?
7. How many of these cases resulted in the death of an unborn child?
1
Response In accordance with Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (the Act),
I can confirm that UKHSA does not hold the information you have specified. UKHSA
is currently investigating a potential change in the epidemiology of Brucella Canis.
The Incident Management Team is standing and the investigations are ongoing. A
summary will be published at a future date once the information is available.
If you have any queries regarding the information that has been supplied to you,
please refer your query to the Information Rights Team in writing in the first instance.
If you remain dissatisfied and would like to request an internal review, then please
contact us by emailing
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xxxxx.xxx.xx. Please note that you have the right to an independent review by the Information
Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if a query cannot be resolved through the UKHSA
internal review procedure. The ICO can be contacted by calling the ICO’s helpline on
0303 123 1113, visiting the ICO’s website
at www.ico.org.uk or writing to the ICO at
Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Information Rights Team
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