Brachyspira Infection In animals Flashcards
What is BrachySpira?
- Gram negative spiral shaped anaerobic bacteria
- Implicated in a number of diseases in animals and humans
- attached to host tissue using adhesins
- Motile via flagella
What is the Brachyspira Culture?
Blood agar
-Culture at 37 Degrees, anaerobically for up to two weeks
What is the pathogenesis of brachyspira?
- Lipopolysaccharide
- Flagella
- Outer Membrane Proteins
- In multiples in the crypts of lieberkuhn
- Causes necrosis and erosion of mucosa
What is intestinal spirochaetis?
- Bacterial Intestinal Disease
- Often observed just as birds are about to reach peak egg productivity
- it leads to reduced productivity and in severe cases mortality and morbidity
What are some of the clinical manifestations of avian spirochaetosis?
- Depression of egg production
- Production of faecally stained eggs
- Increased morbidity and mortality
- Weak chicks
- Increase in frothy droppings
- Reduced carotenoid in eggs
In what poultry is brachyspira mostly a problem?
In layers (any poultry raised to produce eggs)
Why has the incidence of brachyspira increased in the UK?
- Ban on the use of antimicrobials in feed in 2006
- Increase in free range flocks
- Antimicrobial resistance
- Intensification
What is swine dysentry?
Severe inflammation of the large intestine with bloody mucous diarrohea
severe cases occur in sows and their suckling piglets
What is the incubation period for swine dysentry?
normally 7-14 days, but can be up to 60 days
What are the clinical signs of swine dysentry?
- Sloppy Diarrhoea
- Twitching of the tail
- hollowing of the flanks partial loss of appetite
- slight reddening of the skin
What are the clinical signs of swine dysentry as the disease progresses?
- Blood may appear in the faces
- rapid loss of condition
- Dehydration
- gaunt appearance with sunken eyes
- sudden death
How may pigs become infected?
- Ingestion of infected faeces
- spread by carrier pigs that shed the organism in the faeces
- Can enter farms via carrier pigs or infected equipment
What are some predisposing factors of swine dysentry
- stress as a result from food change
- Poor sanitation and wet pens
- Overcrowding
How may you diagnose swine dysentry?
- Clinical signs
- post-mortem
- lab tests of faecal smears
*
Why has brachyspira become more common in pigs?
- Ban on growth promotor antibiotics
- Increase in outdoor rearing
What is intestinal spirochaetes?
A bacterial intestinal disease that mainly effects the caeca and colo-rectum
How do poultry become infected by intestinal spirochaetesis?
Via the faecal-oral route
What birds can be affected by intestinal spirochaetes?
- Poultry
- Breeders and chicks
- Geese, turkey, rheas
What are some of the clinical manifestations of avian spirochaetesis?
- Depression of egg production
- Production of faecally stained eggs
- reduced mean egg weight
- increased morbidity/ mortality
- changes in shell colour
- weak chicks
What clinical sign will effect around 5-25% of the flock?
Yellowish-brown intermitte chronic diarrhoea
What does the histopathology of spirochaetes look like?
Moderate lymphohistiocytic infiltration
* Mild crypt hyperplasia with thickening of the
mucosa
* Accumulation of eosinophilic material in
crypts
Why has the incidence of brachyspira in the UK increased?
- Ban on the use of antimicrobials in feed in 2006
- Increase in free range flocks
- Intensification
What does B. hyodysenteriae cause?
Swine dysentry
What does B. hampsonii cause?
Severe diarrhoeal disease
