Standardized methods and quality control limits for agar and broth microdilution susceptibility testing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum.

An international multilaboratory collaborative study was conducted to develop standard media and consensus methods for the performance and quality control of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Mycoplasma pneumoniae, Mycoplasma hominis, and Ureaplasma urealyticum using broth microdilution and agar dilution techniques. A reference strain from the American Type Culture Collection was designated for each species, which was to be used for quality control purposes. Repeat testing of replicate samples of each reference strain by participating laboratories utilizing both methods and different lots of media enabled a 3- to 4-dilution MIC range to be established for drugs in several different classes, including tetracyclines, macrolides, ketolides, lincosamides, and fluoroquinolones. This represents the first multilaboratory collaboration to standardize susceptibility testing methods and to designate quality control parameters to ensure accurate and reliable assay results for mycoplasmas and ureaplasmas that infect humans.

Ceftiofur susceptibility of Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus isolated from horses in North America between 1989 and 2008.

In vitro activity of ceftiofur and six other antimicrobial agents was assessed for 516 Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus isolates collected from horses with lower respiratory tract infections in North America in 2007 and 2008 and 239 equine S. equi subsp zooepidemicus isolates received from US and Canadian veterinary diagnostic laboratories between 1989 and 2007. The lowest concentration of ceftiofur inhibiting the growth of 90% of the isolates (MIC90) was 0.12 microg/ml for both groups of isolates. The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute susceptible breakpoint set for ceftiofur against this organism is a minimal inhibitory concentration value of ≤ 0.25 microg/ml. The MIC90 values remained consistent for isolates collected over 19 years.

In vitro susceptibility of ceftiofur against Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus and subsp equi isolated from horses with lower respiratory disease in Europe since 2002.

In vitro activity of ceftiofur and six other antimicrobial agents was evaluated against 79 Streptococcus equi subsp zooepidemicus isolates collected from horses with respiratory disease in Europe during 2007 and 2008. In addition, the in vitro activity of ceftiofur and other antimicrobial drugs was assessed against 59 S. equi subsp zooepidemicus and 49 S. equi subsp equi isolates collected by veterinary diagnostic laboratories in Europe from 2002 to 2006. The lowest concentration of ceftiofur that inhibited the growth of 90% of the isolates (MIC90) was 0.12 microg/ml, with the Clinical Laboratory Standards Institute-approved susceptible breakpoint set at ≤ 0.25 microg/ml for ceftiofur against S. equi subsp zooepidemicus. The MIC90 values remained consistent when comparing the isolates collected from diagnostic laboratories or from the field study.

Efficacy of tulathromycin or enrofloxacin for initial treatment of naturally occurring bovine respiratory disease in feeder calves.

After undergoing arrival processing at one of two commercial feedlots, feeder calves with clinical signs of bovine respiratory disease (BRD) were randomly assigned to receive either tulathromycin (2.4 mg/kg SC) or enrofloxacin (12.5 mg/kg SC). Additional therapy for calves that did not respond to initial treatment followed a prescribed course. Initial treatment with tulathromycin resulted in significantly higher (P = .009 and P = .031 at sites 1 and 2, respectively) therapeutic success (87.9% and 80%, respectively) than did initial treatment with enrofloxacin (70.2% and 62.5%, respectively). Animals treated with tulathromycin also had fewer subsequent treatments and higher weight gains compared with those treated with enrofloxacin.

Protective immunity to Salmonella enterica is partially serogroup specific.

Pre-harvest reduction of Salmonella carriage by swine would benefit both animal health and food quality. While vaccination is an attractive pre-harvest intervention to reduce Salmonella levels in swine, the large number of potential Salmonella enterica serovars found in swine makes it critical that vaccines provide broad serotype efficacy. In order to directly compare the relative efficacy of Salmonella vaccines against serogroup-matched and serogroup-unmatched Salmonella, we vaccinated pigs with two commercially available Salmonella vaccines (either serogroup B or serogroup C1) and challenged with serovar-matched, serogroup-matched or serogroup-unmatched challenge strains. We found that while serogroup-matched vaccines provided relatively better efficacy than unmatched vaccines, serotype-unmatched vaccines also provided significant reduction of Salmonella carriage and shed. In addition, by measuring serogroup specific cell mediated (IFN-γ ELISPOT) and humoral (anti-LPS ELISA) immunity, we found that this serogroup specific efficacy correlates primarily with humoral immunity, while cell mediated immunity was mostly non-serogroup specific. While the practical relevance to pork quality of this serogroup-specific efficacy remains to be demonstrated, the large predominance of serogroup B Salmonella in swine suggests that a serogroup B Salmonella vaccine for swine would be of value to pre-harvest food safety interventions in swine.

A bighorn sheep die-off in southern Colorado involving a Pasteurellaceae strain that may have originated from syntopic cattle.

We investigated a pasteurellosis epizootic in free-ranging bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) wherein a Pasteurellaceae strain carried by syntopic cattle (Bos taurus) under severe winter conditions appeared to contribute to pneumonia in affected bighorns. Twenty-one moribund or dead bighorn sheep were found on the "Fossil Ridge" herd's winter range, Colorado, USA, between 13 December 2007 and 29 February 2008. Eight carcasses examined showed gross or microscopic evidence of acute to subacute fibrinous bronchopneumonia. All eight carcasses yielded at least one ß-hemolytic Mannheimia haemolytica biogroup 1(±(G)) strain, and seven also yielded a ß-hemolytic Bibersteinia trehalosi biogroup 4 (CDS) strain; evidence of Pasteurella multocida, Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae, and parainfluenza 3 and bovine respiratory syncytial viruses was also detected. Isolates of ß-hemolytic Manneimia haemolytica biogroup 1(G) from a bighorn carcass and a syntopic cow showed 99.5% similarity in genetic fingerprints; B. trehalosi biogroup 4(CDS) isolates were ≥94.9% similar to an isolate from a nearby bighorn herd. Field and laboratory observations suggested that pneumonia in affected bighorns may have been caused by a combination of pathogens including two pathogenic Pasteurellaceae strains--one likely of cattle origin and one likely of bighorn origin--with infections in some cases perhaps exacerbated by other respiratory pathogens and severe weather conditions. Our and others' findings suggest that intimate interactions between wild sheep and cattle should be discouraged as part of a comprehensive approach to health management and conservation of North American wild sheep species.