Certain Canine Weakly β-Hemolytic Intestinal Spirochetes Are Phenotypically and Genotypically Related to Spirochetes Associated with Human and Porcine Intestinal Spirochetosis

Four canine weakly β-hemolytic intestinal spirochetes associated with intestinal spirochetosis (IS-associated WBHIS) were compared with IS-associated human and porcine WBHIS and the type species for Serpulina hyodysenteriae and S. innocens by using phenotypic and genotypic parameters. The IS-associated canine, human, and porcine WBHIS belonged to a phyletic group distinct from but related to previously described Serpulina type species

Pathogenicity of Intestinal Spirochetes Associated with Porcine Colonic Spirochetosis

We reported on a new species of intestinal spirochete bacterium, Serpulina pilosicoli/, associated with a diarrheal disease of grower-finisher swine, called porcine colonic spirochetosis (PCS). In this report we show that Serpulina pilosicoli, associated with outbreaks of PCS in the United States, attached to the cecal surface of chicks while Serpulina innocens, a non-pathogenic intestinal spirochete, did not. These findings support a role for Serpulina pilosicoli as a cause of diarrhea and reduced feed efficiency in swine