Development of a live, attenuated, recombinant vaccine for Brucellosis

A recombinant, attenuated strain of Brucella suis or Brucella melitensis with a deficiency in carboxyl-terminal protease activity or tail-specific protease activity can be used as a vaccine for the prevention or treatment of Brucellosis. Prior exposure to the Brucella species is identified by detecting a genetic sequence for carboxyl-terminal (i.e. tail-specific) protease activity in a biological sample.