The natural distribution of thermotolerant Campylobacter sp. in dogs (150 stray animals and 64 pets) was studied. Campylobacters were more frequently isolated (pFoi estudada a distribuição natural de espécies termotolerantes de Campylobacter em 159 cães vadios e em 64 cães de companhia em confinamento permanente. Espécies de Campylobacter foram isoladas mais freqüentemente (

Fernández, Heriberto

Martin, Rodolfo

English

Foi estudada a distribuição natural de espécies termotolerantes de Campylobacter em 159 cães vadios e em 64 cães de companhia em confinamento permanente. Espécies de Campylobacter foram isoladas mais freqüentemente (pThe natural distribution of thermotolerant Campylobacter sp. in dogs (150 stray animals and 64 pets) was studied. Campylobacters were more frequently isolated (

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Campylobacter intestinal carriage among stray and pet dogs*Disseminação de Campylobacter entre cães vadios e de estimaçãoHeriberto Fernández**, Rodolfo Martin***FERNÁNDEZ, H. & MARTIN, R. Campylobacter intestinal carriage among stray and pet dogs. Rev.Saúde públ., S. Paulo, 25: 473-5, 1991. The natural distribution of thermotolerant Campylobacter sp.in dogs (150 stray animals and 64 pets) was studied. Campylobacters were more frequently isolated(p<0.01) from stray dogs (51.3%) rather than from pet dogs (21.9%). All the biotypes described byLior for C. jejuni and C. coli were found among stray animals, whereas only C. jejuni biotypes I and IIand C. coli biotype II were found among pet dogs. The need for more studies related to the role ofenvironmental sanitary conditions in the spreading of Campylobacter species is noted.Keywords: Campylobacter, isolation. Disease reservoirs. Feces, microbiology.* Supported by grants S-84-13 and S-88-11 DID-UACH and FONDECYT 59-89.** Institute of Clinical Microbiology. UniversidadAustral de Chile - Valdivia, Chile.*** Institute of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.Universidad Austral de Chile - Valdivia, Chile.Separatas/Reprints: H. Fernández - P.O. Box 567 -Valdivia, Chile.IntroductionCampylobacter jejuni and C. coli are prevalentagents of gastroenteritis in human beings, especiallyin developing countries2,5. They have been isolatedfrom water, sewage, food of animal origin and froma great variety of domestic and wild animals andbirds2,6,15. These can come into frequent contact withhumans, as in the case of pets and animals or birdsused as food.Transmission of Campylobacter sp. to humanbeings involves the consumption of contaminatedfood or water, the handling of raw chickens anddirect contact with infected animals or their feces2,15.Cats and dogs have been described as sources ofinfection, particularly for children1,12,14,16.Having in mind that remarkable differences havepreviously been observed in the intestinal carriageof Campylobacter among stray and pet dogs3,13, andthe lack of information about this epidemiologicalaspect in developing countries, the natural distribu-tion of thermotolerant Campylobacter sp. in thesetwo types of dogs in southern Chile was studied.Material and MethodThe study was conducted in Valdivia city(140.000 inhabitants, 73°11'W, 39°46'S) during a6 - month period (April to August, 1990).Two hundred and fourteen animals were stud-ied: 150 stray dogs and 64 pet dogs. Pet dogs arethose animals having known owners andmantained in permanent confinement. Animalswithout a known owner, or even having one, butpresenting wandering habits, were considered asstray dogs.All the dogs were examined in theUniversitary Veterinary Clinic where fecalsamples were taken from each animal by meansof a rectal swab. None of them presenteddiarrheal symptomatology.Each sample was identified with an appropiatecode number and within 2 to 3 hours after collec-tion was seeded on modified Skirrow's mediumcomprising Brucella agar, 5% horse blood,Skirrow's antibiotic supplement (Oxoid) plus 10μg/ml of cephalotin an 2 μg/ml of amphotericine Band FBP supplement (Oxoid). Inocculated plateswere incubated at 43°C for 48 hours undermicroaerobic conditions utilizing the Anaerocult Csystem (Merk).After the incubation period, plates were exam-ined and Campylobater species and biotypes wereidentified using the criteria proposed by Lior10.ResultsCampylobacter species were isolated from 91(42.5%) animals. Seventy seven (51.3%) of thesewere stray dogs and 14 (21.9%) had known owner(pet dogs).All the biotypes described by Lior10 for C. jejuniand C. coli were found in stray dogs, C. jejunibiotypes I and II and C. coli biotype I being themost frequent (38.9%, 29.6% and 60.9%, respec-tively).Among the dogs with known owners the distri-bution of the biotypes of C. jejuni and C. coli wasmore restricted. Only C. jejuni biotypes I and II(55.6% and 44.4% respectively) and C. coli biotypeII (100%) were isolated from these animals.Table shows the distribution of Campylobacterisolates among both groups of dogs.DiscussionInfected animals may be involved in the spreadof Campylobacter species to man2. Dogs and otherscompanion animals have been shown to be sourcesof infection2,4,12,14,16.In the present study, the frequency of stray dogsharboring Campylobacter species was of 51.3%.This value is similar to that obtained by Simpsonet al13. and Bruce and Zochowski3 for the same typeof animals. On the other hand, as Simpson et al13.have found, this study showed that the number ofanimals with Campylobacter in their feces was sig-nificantly greater in stray than in pet dogs. How-ever, a higher number of carriers was found amongpets than in the study of Simpson et al13.Fox et al9. stated that the isolation rates ofCampylobacter in certain dog populations may re-flect the inadequate environmental sanitation pre-vailing where the animals are living or maintained.So when sanitation and housing are often less thanideal, the animals have considerable opportunitiesfor cross-contamination.When Lior's10 biotyping scheme was applied toCampylobacter strains isolated from stray dogs, the4 biotypes described for C. jejuni and the 2 for C.coli were found. Among the strains isolated frompet dogs, the biopyte distribution for bothCampylobacter species was more restricted. OnlyC. jejuni biotypes I and II and C. coli biotype IIwere found.The latter biotypes are the most frequently iso-lated from cases of human diarrhea in Valdiviacity* and in Santiago city8. These findings suggestthat pet dogs could be associated, as sources ofinfection in cases of diarrhea. This fact has alreadybeen described in developed countries1,12,14,16. How-ever, in developing countries there are no docu-mented data linking pet dogs with known cases ofCampylobacter enteritis.Stray dogs are animals that are not in frequentcontact with human beings thus suggesting that theirparticipation as sources of infection is limited andthat they have greater importance as spreaders ofCampylobacter spp. to the environment. At thesame time, a contaminated envivonment could pro-vide many opportunities for the transmission ofCampylobacter spp. to birds, mammals and hu-mans2. In Valdivia, the 4 biotypes of C. jejuni andthe 2 of C. coli were isolated from surface water7.The high prevalence of dogs which are intestinalcarriers, together with the wide distribution of C.jejuni and C. coli biotypes among stray dogs, aswell as our findings in surface water7 suggest thatenvivonmental conditions play an important role inthis epidemiological picture. Similar findings havebeen observed in developing countries among chil-dren living in poor, crowded and contaminated ur-ban slums11.This is probably, an epidemiological aspect thatcould also be found in relation to other animalpopulations. Therefore further studies must be un-dertaken with a view to clarifying the role of envi-ronmental sanitary conditions in the spreading ofCampylobacter species and the detection of all thelinks involved in their transmission.FERNÁNDEZ, H. & MARTIN, R. Disseminação deCampylobacter entre cães vadios e de estimação. Rev.Saúde públ., S. Paulo, 25: 473-5, 1991. Foi estudada adistribuição natural de espécies termotolerantes deCampylobacter em 159 cães vadios e em 64 cães de*Unpublished datacompanhia em confinamento permanente. Espécies deCampylobacter foram isoladas mais freqüentemente(p<0,01) dos cães vadios (51,3%) do que dos cães decompanhia (21,9%). Todos os biotipos descritos por Liorpara C. jejuni e C. coli foram encontrados entre as amos-tras isoladas dos cães vadios. Nas amostras isoladas doscães mantidos em confmamento permanente somente fo-ram encontrados os biotipos I e II de C. jejuni e o biotipoII do C. coli. Salienta-se a necessidade de realizar outrosestudos para estabelecer a relação entre as condições desaneamento ambiental e a disseminação das espéciestermotolerantes de Campylobacter.Descritores: Campylobacter, isolamento. Reservatóriosde doenças.References1. BLASER, M.J. et al. Campylobacter enteritis associated withcanine infection. Lancet, 2: 979-81, 1978.2. BLASER, M.J. et al. Epidemiology of Campylobacter jejuniinfections. Epidemiol. Rev., 5: 157-76, 1983.3. BRUCE, D. & ZOCHOWSKI, W. Campylobacter infections incats and dogs. Vet. Rec., 107: 200-1, 1980.4. DILL WORTH, C.R. et al. Campylobacter enteritis acquiredfrom cattle. Canad. J. publ. Hlth., 79: 60-2, 1988.5. FERNÁNDEZ, H. et al. Occurrence of Campylobacter jejuniin diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic children in São Paulo.Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 27: 102-4, 1985.6. FERNÁNDEZ, H. Species and biotype distribution ofthermotholerant campylobacters in animal reservoirs in south-ern Chile. Rev. Inst. Med. trop. S. Paulo, 30: 357-60,1988.7. FERNÁNDEZ, H. et al. Moore Swab: an inexpensive methodfor the isolation of enteropathogenic species ofCampylobacter from surface waters, In: Castillo, C. et al.,ed. Proceedings Second Biennial Water Quality Simposium:Microbiological aspects. Viña del Mar, Ed. Universitaria,1990. p. 257-60.8. FIGUEROA, C. et al. Biotypes, serogroups and antibiotic sus-ceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coliin Chile. J. infect, 20: 123-7, 1990.9. FOX, J.G. et al. Canine and feline campylobacteriosis:epizootiology and clinical and public health features. J.Amer. vet. med. Ass., 183: 1420-4, 1983.10. LIOR, H. New, extended biotyping scheme for Campylobacterjejuni, Campylobacter coli and Campylobacter laridis. Clin.Microbiol, 20: 636-40, 1984.11. MOLBAK, K. et al. High prevalence of Campylobacterexcretors among Liberian children related to environmen-tal conditions. Epidem. Infect., 100: 227-37, 1988.12. SALFIELD, N.J. & PUGH, E.J. Campylobacter enteritis inyoung children living in households with puppies. Brit.med. J., 294: 21-2, 1987.13. SIMPSON, J.W. et al. Isolation of thermophilic campylobactersfrom two populations of dogs. Vet. Res. Corran., 5: 63-6,1981.14. SKIRROW, M.B. Campylobacter enteritis in dogs and cats: a"new" zoonosis. Vet. Res. Comm., 5: 13-9, 1981.15. STERN, N.J. Campylobacter jejuni. In: Doyle, M.P., ed. Food-borne bacterial pathogens. New York, Marcel Dekker,1989. p. 71-110.16. SVEDHEM, A. & NORKRANS, G. Campylobacter jejunienteritis transmited from cat to man. Lancet, 1: 713-4,1980.Recebido para publicação em 15/5/1991Reapresentado em 20/9/1991Aprovado para publicação em 27/9/1991

Campylobacter intestinal carriage among stray and pet dogs

The natural distribution of thermotolerant Campylobacter sp. in dogs (150 stray animals and 64 pets) was studied. Campylobacters were more frequently isolated (p<0.01) from stray dogs (51.3%) rather than from pet dogs (21.9%). All the biotypes described by Lior for C. jejuni and C. coli were found among stray animals, whereas only C. jejuni biotypes I and II and C. coli biotype II were found among pet dogs. The need for more studies related to the role of environmental sanitary conditions in the spreading of Campylobacter species is noted.Foi estudada a distribuição natural de espécies termotolerantes de Campylobacter em 159 cães vadios e em 64 cães de companhia em confinamento permanente. Espécies de Campylobacter foram isoladas mais freqüentemente (p<0,01) dos cães vadios (51,3%) do que dos cães de companhia (21,9%). Todos os biotipos descritos por Lior para C. jejuni e C. coli foram encontrados entre as amostras isoladas dos cães vadios. Nas amostras isoladas dos cães mantidos em confmamento permanente somente foram encontrados os biotipos I e II de C. jejuni e o biotipo II do C. coli. Salienta-se a necessidade de realizar outros estudos para estabelecer a relação entre as condições de saneamento ambiental e a disseminação das espécies termotolerantes de Campylobacter

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Disseminação de Campylobacter entre cães vadios e de estimação

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Disseminação de Campylobacter entre cães vadios e de estimação

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