Detection of flagellar antigen of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in canine faeces with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)--new prospects for diagnosis.

A new diagnostic procedure was developed to detect the flagellar antigen of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in canine faecal specimens and was tested on faecal samples from random-source dogs obtained from the local dog pound. Extraction of acid-soluble proteins was performed on faecal specimens and the extracted material was evaluated using species-specific monoclonal antibodies in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The assay detected all C. jejuni or C. coli infected specimens compared with direct selective faecal culture. One of 18 faecal specimens culture-negative for C. jejuni was identified as positive by the assay, i.e. a false positive rate of 1 of 18 (5.6%) and a corresponding specificity of 94.4%. These results suggest that the screening procedure developed to detect flagellar antigens of C. jejuni and C. coli in canine faecal samples should be further investigated as a diagnostic alternative to culture.

Association of cecal spirochetes with pasty vents and dirty eggshells in layers.

Feces-stained eggshells, diarrhea, and typhlitis were identified in two commercial laying flocks in Ohio. Hens with diarrhea had spirochetes in cecal lumina and crypts. On culture, the spirochetes were motile and non-hemolytic, did not produce indole, had 12 to 15 axial filaments, were 9.2 to 11.7 microns in length and 240 to 370 nm in diameter, and had a wavelength of 5.1 to 6.5 microns on transmission electron microscopy.

Efficacies of erythromycin and chloramphenicol in extinguishing fecal shedding of Campylobacter jejuni in dogs.

Oral treatment regimens of erythromycin stearate and chloramphenicol were evaluated in naturally infected laboratory colony dogs for their efficacies in extinguishing fecal shedding of Campylobacter jejuni. Of the 25 Campylobacter-infected English Foxhounds in the study, 9 were assigned to erythromycin treatment, 9 to chloramphenicol treatment, and 7 to no treatment. Antimicrobials were administered for 12 days. All of the dogs that received erythromycin stearate ceased shedding C jejuni by the fourth day of treatment and remained negative throughout the treatment period. Chloramphenicol was associated with a reduction in shedding from 100% to 57% by the ninth day of treatment. Within 9 days of the discontinuation of antimicrobial treatment, C jejuni was isolated from all chloramphenicol-treated dogs and 89% erythromycin-treated dogs.

Effects of sample holding time, temperature, and atmosphere on the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from dogs.

Stool specimens were collected from 39 dogs, inoculated onto Campylobacter blood agar plates, and divided into four subsamples. Subsamples were held at 4 and 25 degrees C in room air and in a microaerobic environment and were reinoculated at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, and 8 h. C. jejuni survived at least 3 h when it was held at 4 degrees C, but less than 2 h when it was held at 25 degrees C. The holding atmosphere was not associated with a difference in isolation rates.

Comparison of broth enrichment and direct plating for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from dogs.

Two techniques for the isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from feces, direct plating and thioglycolate broth enrichment, were compared. A total of 272 rectal swab cultures were performed on 156 laboratory dogs. Campylobacter blood agar plates and Campylobacter thioglycolate broth were inoculated immediately upon sampling of the dogs. After incubation at 4 degrees C for 12 to 16 h, material from the Campylobacter thioglycolate medium was inoculated onto Campylobacter blood agar plates. A total of 157 samples were positive for C. jejuni; 154 were positive by the direct method and 112 were positive by the enrichment technique. Forty-five samples which were negative by the enrichment were positive by the direct method, and three samples which were negative by the direct method were positive for C. jejuni by the enrichment method. The use of the enrichment step resulted in an increase in the isolation rate from 56.6 to 57.7%.