Increased prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi infections in Bernese Mountain Dogs: a possible breed predisposition

BACKGROUND: Glomerulonephritis in dogs has been associated with B. burgdorferi infections. In Bernese Mountain Dogs with glomerulonephritis antibodies against B. burgdorferi were found in most dogs, raising the question if the breed is predisposed to infections with B. burgdorferi. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi sensu lato in a well defined population of Bernese Mountain Dogs and to compare this prevalence with data from dogs of other breeds. RESULTS: 160 Bernese Mountain Dogs and 62 control dogs (large breed dogs with long hair) were included. All dogs were considered healthy according to a questionnaire filled out by the owner, complete blood count, chemistry panel, urinalysis and urine culture. Bernese Mountain Dogs and control dogs were kept similar in similar environments. Seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi was assessed by ELISA and Western blot and was 58% in Bernese Mountain Dogs compared to 15% in control dogs. This difference was significant. Neither antibodies against leptospires nor vaccination or hair coat color influenced the results. CONCLUSIONS: The cause of the considerably higher prevalence of antibodies against B. burgdorferi in Bernese Mountain Dogs and its consequences are not known. A breed predisposition can be suspected

Follow-up of Bernese Mountain dogs and other dogs with serologically diagnosed Borrelia burgdorferi infection: What happens to seropositive animals?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Data on the long-term outcome of <it>B. burgdorferi </it>infections in adult dogs are sparse. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether Bernese Mountain dogs with serological evidence of natural <it>B. burgdorferi </it>infection more often develop signs such as lameness, azotemia or proteinuria during a follow-up period of 2.5 to 3.0 years. Seropositive Bernese Mountain dogs were compared to seronegative Bernese Mountain dogs and to seropositive and seronegative control dogs of other breeds.</p> <p>Dogs included in a previous study on the prevalence of antibodies against <it>B. burgdorferi </it>in Bernese Mountain dogs were re-evaluated. Antibodies against <it>B. burgdorferi </it>were determined using an ELISA with a whole-cell sonicate as antigen and results were confirmed using a Western blot assay.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-three Bernese Mountain dogs and 30 control dogs were re-evaluated. Re-evaluation was performed between 2.5 and 3.0 years (median 2.7 years) after the first assessment.</p> <p>The age of the dogs at the second evaluation ranged from 3 to 11 years (median 6 years). There were no significant differences with regard to poor general condition or lameness between the first and the second evaluation.</p> <p>At the first evaluation 22 (42%) of the Bernese Mountain dogs and 11 (37%) of the control dogs were considered positive for antibodies against <it>B. burgdorferi</it>. At the second evaluation 25 (47%) of the Bernese Mountain dogs and 12 (40%) of the control dogs were considered positive; 69% of the dogs showed the same serological result at both examinations and 31% were seroconverted or seroreverted. During the first examination, azotemia was diagnosed in 6 Bernese Mountain dogs and during the second examination in 11 Bernese Mountain dogs. No control dogs had azotemia in this study. In seropositive dogs there was no increase in lameness or signs of renal disease over time.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It may be concluded that antibodies against <it>B. burgdorferi </it>determined by whole cell ELISA and confirmed by Western blot were neither associated with the development of lameness nor with signs of renal disease like azotemia or proteinuria in dogs observed over a period of 2.5 to 3.0 years.</p

A novel multiplex qPCR targeting 23S rDNA for diagnosis of swine dysentery and porcine intestinal spirochaetosis

Figure S1. Consensus sequence alignment of the target DNA region within 23S ribosomal DNA. Primers (Brachy primer for. and Brachy primer rev.) on the target DNA are marked in grey. The probe for B. hyodysenteriae (Probe_hyo) is highlighted in yellow, the probe for B. pilosicoli (Probe_pilo) in purple, and the probe for the B. intermedia/B. innocens/B. murdochii (probe inter) in green. Differences in single residues are marked in red. (PDF 112 kb

Inorganic pyrophosphatase in uncultivable hemotrophic mycoplasmas: identification and properties of the enzyme from Mycoplasma suis

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma suis belongs to a group of highly specialized hemotrophic bacteria that attach to the surface of host erythrocytes. Hemotrophic mycoplasmas are uncultivable and the genomes are not sequenced so far. Therefore, there is a need for the clarification of essential metabolic pathways which could be crucial barriers for the establishment of an in vitro cultivation system for these veterinary significant bacteria.Inorganic pyrophosphatases (PPase) are important enzymes that catalyze the hydrolysis of inorganic pyrophosphate PPi to inorganic phosphate Pi. PPases are essential and ubiquitous metal-dependent enzymes providing a thermodynamic pull for many biosynthetic reactions. Here, we describe the identification, recombinant production and characterization of the soluble (s)PPase of Mycoplasma suis. RESULTS: Screening of genomic M. suis libraries was used to identify a gene encoding the M. suis inorganic pyrophosphatase (sPPase). The M. suis sPPase consists of 164 amino acids with a molecular mass of 20 kDa. The highest identity of 63.7% was found to the M. penetrans sPPase. The typical 13 active site residues as well as the cation binding signature could be also identified in the M. suis sPPase. The activity of the M. suis enzyme was strongly dependent on Mg2+ and significantly lower in the presence of Mn2+ and Zn2+. Addition of Ca2+ and EDTA inhibited the M. suis sPPase activity. These characteristics confirmed the affiliation of the M. suis PPase to family I soluble PPases. The highest activity was determined at pH 9.0. In M. suis the sPPase builds tetramers of 80 kDa which were detected by convalescent sera from experimentally M. suis infected pigs. CONCLUSION: The identification and characterization of the sPPase of M. suis is an additional step towards the clarification of the metabolism of hemotrophic mycoplasmas and, thus, important for the establishment of an in vitro cultivation system. As an antigenic and conserved protein the M. suis sPPase could in future be further analyzed as a diagnostic antigen

Risk factors for invasive reptile-associated salmonellosis in children

Abstract Reptile-associated salmonellosis (RAS) in children has been reported primarily due to direct contact with turtles, but recently also due to indirect contact with more exotic reptiles, causing disease in infants. To evaluate risk factors for RAS, we reviewed the RAS cases published in the literature since 1965. A case was defined as a child ≤18 years of age with an epidemiological link by identification of Salmonella enterica in cultures from both the affected child and the exposed reptile. We identified a total of 177 otherwise healthy children (median age 1.0 years, range 2 days to 17.0 years). RAS manifested mainly with gastrointestinal disease, but 15% presented with invasive RAS, including septicemia, meningitis, and bone and joint infection. The children with invasive RAS were significantly younger than children with noninvasive disease (median age 0.17 and 2.0 years, p<0.0001). RAS is most frequently seen after exposure to turtles (42%). However, children with invasive RAS had been exposed more often (p≤0.001) to reptiles other than turtles, including iguanas, bearded dragons, snakes, chameleons, and geckos. Children exposed to those latter reptiles usually kept indoors were younger than children exposed to turtles mostly kept outdoors (p<0.0001). RAS in children is significantly associated with invasive disease at young age, in particular infants <6 months of age. Exposure to reptiles, other than turtles, kept indoors is associated with RAS at younger age and more invasive disease. This finding is helpful for recognizing or even preventing invasive RAS in young infants that are at highest risk

Bacterial infections of the equine genital tract

Bacterial infections of the genitial tract are the major cause of reproductive failure in the mare. The variety of bacteria involved has been carefully established in the past and is approved in recent studies. There are approved laboratory procedures for etiologic diagnostics of bacterial infections of the female equine genital tract. Innovative molecular based approaches aim at elucidating, for instance, potential transmission modes of opportunistic pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa, or at analysing genital microbial communities (microbiomes). The latter approach may provide new and more dynamic insights into the pathogenesis of genital infections since alteration of microbiomes is known to be associated with several pathogenic conditions

First screening for Brachyspira hampsonii in Swiss pigs applying a new high resolution melting assay

A new High Resolution Melting (HRM) assay was developed for the rapid detection of Brachyspira (B.) hampsonii. B. hampsonii occurs in different European countries, however, until today it has not been encountered in Switzerland. Four B. hampsonii reference strains were used to develop the HRM assay: B. hampsonii clade I ATCC BAA2463 and clade II ATCC BAA2464 strain, as well as two isolated strains P280/1 from the UK and the German isolate 5369-1x/12. A conserved region of the nox gene was used to design B. hampsonii-specific primers. The HRM melting curves for the four reference strains showed reproducible difference graphs with distinct differences between the four strains based on a slight variation between the four amplicon sequences. In addition, DNA from 22 B. hampsonii strains representing four genetic B. hampsonii groups was used to validate the method. Melting temperatures in the interval between 73.1 and 74 °C were obtained for all B. hampsonii strains and allow differentiating B. hampsonii from other Brachyspira species. In total 897 Swiss porcine fecal Brachyspira isolates, cultured between 2009 and 2015, were analysed by the HRM protocol. B. hampsonii was not detected among these Swiss Brachyspira isolates. In conclusion, the rapid and low-cost HRM approach allows a sensitive and specific identification of B. hampsonii

Comparison of fecal culture and F57 real-time polymerase chain reaction for the detection of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis in Swiss cattle herds with a history of paratuberculosis

BACKGROUND: Bovine paratuberculosis is an incurable chronic granulomatous enteritis caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP). The prevalence of MAP in the Swiss cattle population is hard to estimate, since only a few cases of clinical paratuberculosis are reported to the Swiss Federal Food Safety and Veterinary Office each year.Fecal samples from 1,339 cattle (855 animals from 12 dairy herds, 484 animals from 11 suckling cow herds, all herds with a history of sporadic paratuberculosis) were investigated by culture and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for shedding of MAP. RESULTS: By culture, MAP was detected in 62 of 445 fecal pools (13.9%), whereas PCR detected MAP in 9 of 445 pools (2.0%). All 186 samples of the 62 culture-positive pools were reanalyzed individually. By culture, MAP was grown from 59 individual samples (31.7%), whereas PCR detected MAP in 12 individual samples (6.5%), all of which came from animals showing symptoms of paratuberculosis during the study. Overall, MAP was detected in 10 out of 12 dairy herds (83.3%) and in 8 out of 11 suckling cow herds (72.7%). CONCLUSIONS: There is a serious clinically inapparent MAP reservoir in the Swiss cattle population. PCR cannot replace culture to identify individual MAP shedders but is suitable to identify MAP-infected herds, given that the amount of MAP shed in feces is increasing in diseased animals or in animals in the phase of transition to clinical diseas