5.8 Gram negative aerobic rods Flashcards
Brucella spp. characteristics: gram, shape, stain, environment, nutrition, where they are found
- Small Gram-negative coccobacilli
- Stain red with acid fast stain (modified Ziehl-
Neelsen method) - Facultative anaerobes, capnophilic (require CO2), have complex nutritional requirements, slow growing
- Facultative intracellular pathogens
- Target reproductive organs of variety of
species - Reservoirs and sources of infection: infected animals and their products
important brucella spp.
abortus, suis, canis
brucella abortus effects, environmental survival, transmission
- Obligate pathogen of cattle, eradicated in Canada (except Wood Buffalo National Park)
- Survives in the environment for months
- Transmission: tissues/liquid of abortion, ingestion, through nasal and oral mucosa, venereal routes, vertical through milk
- Zoonotic agent
Brucella abortus: pathogenesis
- Can invade epithelial cells allowing mucosal invasion and M cells in intestine
- Survive intracellularly within phagocytes and nonphagocytic cells; able to block phagosome-lysosomes fusion
– Causes persistent infection of reticule-endothelial system - B. abortus reaches placenta via macrophages → able to use erythritol and multiplies massively in placenta leading to placentitis
brucella abortus life cycle
-passed from infected mother to aborted fetus which is a source of infections
-can infect horse but this is a dead end
-can infect wild ungulates
-can be apssed into dairy products and infect people
brucella abortus clinical presentation
-abortion between the 5th and 7th month of pregnancy
>infected cows usually abort once, but some may abort during additional pregnancies
-reduced milk production
-calves from infected cows may have latent infections
>infections that are not detected until they become pregnant, abort, or give birth
-decreased fertility, poor conception rates
-occasionally enlarged, arthritic joints
-retained placentas
-birth of weak calves
-stillbirth
Zoonotic potential of brucella abortus: transmission and primary victims
- Transmission by: ingestion, through breaks in the skin, airborne infection (laboratories and abattoirs)
- Primarily affects consumers of raw milk, farmers, butchers, veterinarians and laboratory personnel
Distribution of Brucella abortus
mostly africa, southwest asia, southern europe, south america
Eradication of bovine brucellosis
- Historically, federal test-and-slaughter program in Canada
- Canadian cattle herds declared Brucella free Sept. 1995
- Serological testing: Rapid buffered plate test (cheap, not very specific). If +ve, serum agglutination test and complement fixation test ($, less sensitive, more specific)
- CFIA (with provinces and industry) runs Bovine Surveillance System (BSS) to support Canada’s claim that it is free from brucellosis in cattle
Brucella abortus surveillance
- Pos. serological test → investigation of herd; further
testing - If confirmed infection → CFIA may order quarantine, further testing and/or destruction of infected/exposed animals
- Producers may get compensation for animals ordered to be destroyed by the CFIA
Brucella suis: where is it found, is it screened, symptoms and species affected
- Occasionally found in North America; more prevalent in South America, Europe and Asia (Wild boars in the USA)
- Part of CFIA serological screening at slaughter facilities
- Causes chronic inflammation of the reproductive tracts of sows and boars, stillbirths, neonatal mortality, temporary sterility
brucella suis diagnosis
- Diagnosis: serology (Rose-Bengal plate agglutination, ELISA) → culture/PCR
Brucella canis: where is it found, what disease does it cause?
- May be more prevalent in Canada than originally thought (“puppy mills” and imported dogs), very common in countries with free-ranging dogs (e.g., Mexico)
- Disease:
- Chronic, persistent reticuloendothelial infection, bacteremia, vertebral osteomyelitis
- Abortion late pregnancy; epididymitis, orchitis
- Transmission to people rare
typical signs of brucella canis in dogs
-reproductive problems such as infertility and abortions with few other signs of clinical illness
-abortion
musculoskeletal issue that can be caused by brucella canis
-Brucella discospondylitis