Brucellosis Malta to the point of it being referred to as "Maltese fever". Since 2005, due to a strict regimen of certification of milk animals and widespread use of pasteurization, the illness has been eradicated from Malta. Ireland was declared free of brucellosis on 1 July 2009. The disease had troubled the country's farmers and veterinarians for several decades. The Irish government submitted an application to the European Commission, which verified that Ireland had been liberated. Brendan Smith, Ireland's then Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, said the elimination of brucellosis was "a landmark in the history of disease eradication
Brucellosis followed up serologically for six months. Recently published experience confirms that prolonged and frequent serological follow-up consumes significant resources without yielding much information, and is burdensome for the affected staff, who often fail to comply. The side effects of the usual recommended regimen of rifampicin and doxycycline for three weeks also reduce treatment adherence. As no evidence shows treatment with two drugs is superior to monotherapy, British guidelines now recommend doxycycline alone for three weeks and a less onerous follow-up protocol. Under the name "Malta fever", the disease now called brucellosis first came to the attention of British medical officers