Lipooligosaccharide locus classes and putative virulence genes among chicken and human Campylobacter jejuni isolates

Background: Campylobacter cause morbidity and considerable economic loss due to hospitalization and post infectious sequelae such as reactive arthritis, Guillain Barr-and Miller Fischer syndromes. Such sequelae have been linked to C. jejuni harboring sialic acid structures in their lipooligosaccharide (LOS) layer of the cell wall. Poultry is an important source of human Campylobacter infections but little is known about the prevalence of sialylated C. jejuni isolates and the extent of transmission of such isolates to humans. Results: Genotypes of C. jejuni isolates from enteritis patients were compared with those of broiler chicken with pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), to study the patterns of LOS biosynthesis genes and other virulence associated genes and to what extent these occur among Campylobacter genotypes found both in humans and chickens. Chicken and human isolates generally had similar distributions of the putative virulence genes and LOS locus classes studied. However, there were significant differences regarding LOS locus class of PFGE types that were overlapping between chicken and human isolates and those that were distinct to each source. Conclusions: The study highlights the prevalence of virulence associated genes among Campylobacter isolates from humans and chickens and suggests possible patterns of transmission between the two species.Peer reviewe

The Workshop on Animal Botulism in Europe

A workshop on animal botulism was held in Uppsala, Sweden, in June 2012. Its purpose was to explore the current status of the disease in Europe by gathering the European experts in animal botulism and to raise awareness of the disease among veterinarians and others involved in biopreparedness. Animal botulism is underreported and underdiagnosed, but an increasing number of reports, as well as the information gathered from this workshop, show that it is an emerging problem in Europe. The workshop was divided into 4 sessions: animal botulism in Europe, the bacteria behind the disease, detection and diagnostics, and European collaboration and surveillance. An electronic survey was conducted before the workshop to identify the 3 most needed discussion points, which were: prevention, preparedness and outbreak response; detection and diagnostics; and European collaboration and surveillance. The main conclusions drawn from these discussions were that there is an urgent need to replace the mouse bioassay for botulinum toxin detection with an in vitro test and that there is a need for a European network to function as a reference laboratory, which could also organize a European supply of botulinum antitoxin and vaccines. The foundation of such a network was discussed, and the proposals are presented here along with the outcome of discussions and a summary of the workshop itself

Identification of nine sequence types of the 16S rRNA genes of Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni isolated from broilers

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Campylobacter is the most commonly reported bacterial cause of enteritis in humans in the EU Member States and other industrialized countries. One significant source of infection is broilers and consumption of undercooked broiler meat. <it>Campylobacter jejuni </it>is the <it>Campylobacter </it>sp. predominantly found in infected humans and colonized broilers. Sequence analysis of the 16S rRNA gene is very useful for identification of bacteria to genus and species level. The objectives in this study were to determine the degree of intraspecific variation in the 16S rRNA genes of <it>C. jejuni </it>and <it>C. coli </it>and to determine whether the 16S rRNA sequence types correlated with genotypes generated by PFGE analysis of <it>Sma</it>I restricted genomic DNA of the strains.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The 16S rRNA genes of 45 strains of <it>C. jejuni </it>and two <it>C. coli </it>strains isolated from broilers were sequenced and compared with 16S rRNA sequences retrieved from the Ribosomal Database Project or GenBank. The strains were also genotyped by PFGE after digestion with <it>Sma</it>I.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Sequence analyses of the 16S rRNA genes revealed nine sequence types of the <it>Campylobacter </it>strains and the similarities between the different sequence types were in the range 99.6–99.9%. The number of nucleotide substitutions varied between one and six among the nine 16S rRNA sequence types. One of the nine 16S rRNA sequence profiles was common to 12 of the strains from our study and two of these were identified as <it>Campylobacter coli </it>by PCR/REA. The other 10 strains were identified as <it>Campylobacter jejuni</it>. Five of the nine sequence types were also found among the <it>Campylobacter </it>sequences deposited in GenBank. The three 16S rRNA genes in the analysed strains were identical within each individual strain for all 47 strains.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p><it>C. jejuni </it>and <it>C. coli </it>seem to lack polymorphisms in their 16S rRNA gene, but phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA sequences was not always sufficient for differentiation between <it>C. jejuni </it>and <it>C. coli</it>. The strains were grouped in two major clusters according to 16S rRNA, one cluster with only <it>C. jejuni </it>and the other with both <it>C. jejuni </it>and <it>C. coli</it>. Genotyping of the 47 strains by PFGE after digestion with <it>Sma</it>I resulted in 22 subtypes. A potential correlation was found between the <it>Sma</it>I profiles and the 16S rRNA sequences, as a certain <it>Sma</it>I type only appeared in one of the two major phylogenetic groups.</p

Management of Animal Botulism Outbreaks: From Clinical Suspicion to Practical Countermeasures to Prevent or Minimize Outbreaks

Botulism is a severe neuroparalytic disease that affects humans, all warm-blooded animals, and some fishes. The disease is caused by exposure to toxins produced by Clostridium botulinum and other botulinum toxin–producing clostridia. Botulism in animals represents a severe environmental and economic concern because of its high mortality rate. Moreover, meat or other products from affected animals entering the food chain may result in a public health problem. To this end, early diagnosis is crucial to define and apply appropriate veterinary public health measures. Clinical diagnosis is based on clinical findings eliminating other causes of neuromuscular disorders and on the absence of internal lesions observed during postmortem examination. Since clinical signs alone are often insufficient to make a definitive diagnosis, laboratory confirmation is required. Botulinum antitoxin administration and supportive therapies are used to treat sick animals. Once the diagnosis has been made, euthanasia is frequently advisable. Vaccine administration is subject to health authorities' permission, and it is restricted to a small number of animal species. Several measures can be adopted to prevent or minimize outbreaks. In this article we outline all phases of management of animal botulism outbreaks occurring in wet wild birds, poultry, cattle, horses, and fur farm animals

Leptospira Status in Sweden during the Past Century, Neglected and Re-Emerging?

We compiled data on notified cases of leptospirosis in animals and humans in Sweden. Published studies on leptospirosis in humans and animals from the beginning of the 20th century onwards are summarized. During the Second World War, hundreds of leptospirosis cases in humans were reported in Sweden, but since then, there have been only a few severe cases. Surveillance of leptospirosis in domestic animals demonstrates that the pathogen is still occurring. The occurrence of Leptospira in humans and animals in the other Nordic countries resembles that in Sweden. Leptospirosis is an underdiagnosed and underreported disease globally, both in animals and humans, partly due to the lack of simple, rapid diagnostic tools but possibly also due to the lack of awareness among physicians, veterinarians and nurses. Traditionally, leptospirosis has been mostly diagnosed by serology, but development of molecular methodshas improved the capability for correct diagnosis. As of today, leptospirosis is regarded as a relatively uncommon disease in the Nordic countries, but in some other countries, it is considered a neglected zoonosis or a (re-)emerging disease that may become more common in the future. Possible factors that could contribute to an increase in incidence are discussed in this review. Active surveillance of humans and domestic and wild animals and stringent rodent control in society and animal farms are of outmost importance for prevention

Leptospira Status in Sweden during the Past Century, Neglected and Re-Emerging?

We compiled data on notified cases of leptospirosis in animals and humans in Sweden. Published studies on leptospirosis in humans and animals from the beginning of the 20th century onwards are summarized. During the Second World War, hundreds of leptospirosis cases in humans were reported in Sweden, but since then, there have been only a few severe cases. Surveillance of leptospirosis in domestic animals demonstrates that the pathogen is still occurring. The occurrence of Leptospira in humans and animals in the other Nordic countries resembles that in Sweden. Leptospirosis is an underdiagnosed and underreported disease globally, both in animals and humans, partly due to the lack of simple, rapid diagnostic tools but possibly also due to the lack of awareness among physicians, veterinarians and nurses. Traditionally, leptospirosis has been mostly diagnosed by serology, but development of molecular methodshas improved the capability for correct diagnosis. As of today, leptospirosis is regarded as a relatively uncommon disease in the Nordic countries, but in some other countries, it is considered a neglected zoonosis or a (re-)emerging disease that may become more common in the future. Possible factors that could contribute to an increase in incidence are discussed in this review. Active surveillance of humans and domestic and wild animals and stringent rodent control in society and animal farms are of outmost importance for prevention

Foodborne pathogens in unpasteurized milk in Sweden

Raw milk may be a risk for public health if it is contaminated with zoonotic pathogens. To study the prevalencein unpasteurized milk from Swedish farms, bovine and small ruminant dairy farms were sampled. Since thesampling method and transport conditions may influence the outcome of analyses, efforts were made to optimizethe methodology. Culturing of bacteria was done from in-line milk filters collected from the milk pipe at thepoint where it enters the milk bulk tank at the farms and this way of sampling was compared to sampling bulktank milk (BTM) directly. Analysing milk filters were found to be superior to analysing BTM directly. Conditionsfor transport of milk filter samples were further improved by the addition of Cary Blair transport medium, whichsignificantly increased the number of positive samples for pathogenic bacteria. The isolation of several foodbornepathogens from milk filters was demonstrated. The prevalence of samples with Staphylococcus aureus was71% and 64%, and Listeria spp. 21% and 29% from dairy cow and goat/sheep farms, respectively. Campylobacterjejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica and verotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) O157 were detected in 9%, 2% and 2% ofsamples from bovine milk, respectively.We conclude that the choice of sampling method and sample handling influence the results of bacterialculturing. From the results of this study, we strongly recommend to sample in-line milk filters instead of BTMdirectly and to use Cary Blair medium during transport, especially if the samples are to be analysed forCampylobacter spp. and/or Listeria spp. The findings also show that unpasteurized milk from Swedish farmsoccasionally contain bacteria with zoonotic potential