Distribution of indole-producing urease-negative pasteurellas in animals.

Three hundred fifty-six animal isolates of indole-positive urease-negative cultures of Pasteurella, which would formerly have been classified as P. multocida, were examined with respect to their relationship to the recently described P. multocida subspecies (ssp.) multocida, septica, and gallicida and P. canis, P. stomatis/Taxon 16, and Pasteurella sp. B. Two hundred sixty-three (73.9%) of the cultures could be identified with one of these taxa, and 93 isolates (26.1%), representing 17 different biotypes, were unassignable. Pasteurella multocida ssp. multocida was the predominant taxon throughout and in most of the 25 animal species from which isolations were made. In dogs, P. canis was the most frequent. Different degrees of host predilection were observed also in P. multocida ssp. septica for cats, P. canis for sheep, and 2 of the unassignable biotypes for cattle and dogs, respectively. Overall, the respiratory tract was the most frequent source of isolates, but a propensity of P. multocida ssp. septica for localization in the central nervous system of cats was noted.

Actinobacillus suis-like organisms and evidence of hemolytic strains of Actinobacillus lignieresii in horses.

Thirty-seven local isolates of Actinobacillus suis-like organisms from diseased and clinically normal horses and 1 llama were compared with reference strains of A suis, A lignieresii, A equuli, A capsulatus, A hominis, A (Pasteurella) ureae, and equine A suis-like organisms (ASLO) previously described in literature. Comparison was by cultural characteristics, carbohydrate fermentation, enzyme profiles, and whole-cell protein polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Carbohydrate fermentation, determined by API-CH gallery, divided 36 equine ASLO isolates into 6 API-CH biotypes. The llama isolate was an additional distinct biotype. The biochemical comparisons between A suis and ASLO did not reveal remarkable and consistent differences. Enzyme analysis revealed 5 API-ZYM biotypes, one of which included the same strains as one of the API-CH biotypes and consisted in both instances of 4 esculin-negative ASLO cultures and the reference strain of A lignieresii. We conclude that the 4 strains were hemolytic variants of A lignieresii. Protein electrophoresis disclosed 15 banding patterns, 10 of which represented equine ASLO strains. The reference strains of A suis shared the pattern predominant among equine ASLO. Four of the remaining reference strains of Actinobacillus species each had a unique profile, whereas the type strain of A capsulatus and the llama isolate had similar profiles. The groupings of cultures resulting from the different testing methods had little relation to each other and to the anatomic source of the strains except the strains comprising API-CH biotype II, which originated in the equine respiratory tract, and the A lignieressi cluster.

Lack of supportive susceptibility data for use of ampicillin together with trimethoprim-sulfonamide as broad-spectrum antimicrobial treatment of bacterial disease in dogs.

The combination of ampicillin together with trimethoprim-sulfonamide is sometimes used as a broad-spectrum antimicrobial regimen for treatment of dogs with bacterial infections of unknown etiopathogenesis. To determine whether this combination is indeed broad spectrum, we analyzed susceptibility data derived from commonly encountered bacterial agents in dogs. A total of 381 isolates from 344 cases was studied. Overall, 80 (20.9%) of the 381 isolates were resistant to ampicillin and to trimethoprim-sulfonamide; 159 (41.7%) were resistant to ampicillin, but susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfonamide; 131 (34.4%) were susceptible to both ampicillin and trimethoprim-sulfonamide; and 11 (2.9%) were susceptible to ampicillin, but resistant to trimethoprim-sulfonamide. Of isolates susceptible to ampicillin and/or trimethoprim-sulfonamide, 290 (96.3%) were susceptible to trimethoprim-sulfonamide (ampicillin increased the coverage by 3.7%). On the other hand, 142 (47.2%) were susceptible to ampicillin. In addition, with respect to agents most commonly encountered (members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and members of the genus Staphylococcus), combining ampicillin with trimethoprim-sulfonamide increased coverage by 2.2% over use of trimethoprim-sulfonamide alone. We contend, therefore, that use of ampicillin together with trimethoprim-sulfonamide does not result in an acceptable broad-spectrum antimicrobial regimen for treatment of bacterial disease in dogs.

Our understanding of the Pasteurellaceae.

With the exception of a few consistent pathogens--Pasteurella multocida strains of bovine hemorrhagic septicemia and fowl cholera, Actinobacillus (Haemophilus) pleuropneumoniae, Haemophilus aegyptius and Haemophilus paragallinarum--members of the family Pasteurellaceae are commensal parasites on mucous membranes of vertebrate animals. Many have pathogenic potential, which becomes manifest under conditions of immunodeficiency and stress. Pathogenesis (except in porcine atrophic rhinitis) depends on mobilization of inflammatory responses probably in large part by endotoxin with contributions from protein toxins, which interfere with leukocyte activity and, by their cytotoxicity, cause exacerbation of the inflammatory reaction. Disease patterns include pneumonic/septicemic, upper respiratory and local/traumatic. Acquired resistance is chiefly antibody-dependent, and, with current and emerging biotechnical resources, stands a good chance of being artificially achievable for many important diseases attributed to Pasteurellaceae.

Serodiagnosis of Histophilus ovis-associated epididymitis in rams.

An ELISA for the detection of antibodies to Histophilus ovis was used to evaluate the association of epididymal lesions in rams with serologic response to His ovis. Comparison of ELISA results for His ovis in groups of rams with epididymal lesions with ELISA results of clinically normal rams (control group) revealed a significant difference (P less than 0.01) between the control group and those rams from which His ovis was isolated. A significant difference (P less than 0.01) was noticed between the control group and rams with lesions from which an organism other than His ovis or Brucella ovis was isolated. Additionally, a significant difference (P less than 0.01) was noticed in ELISA results between the control group and affected rams from which no organism was recovered and in which the epididymal lesion was not limited to the head of the epididymis. A difference was not detected in the His ovis ELISA results between control rams and rams with lesions associated with a B ovis infection or rams from which no organism was recovered and in which the epididymal lesion was limited to the head of the epididymis. The serologic findings in our study suggest that His ovis is more important in the development of epididymitis in rams than culture results alone would indicate.

Actinobacillus suis-like organisms in horses.

Actinobacillus suis-like organisms have been recognized in equine specimens at the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital since 1975. The most common source (65%) of the organism was transtracheal washings. The organism was gram-negative, produced hemolysis on blood agar, and gave a positive reaction for oxidase, urease, o-nitrophenyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside, and esculin. Carbohydrate reactions were variable, consisting of 4 main patterns. Actinobacillus suis-like organisms were (90%) sensitive to therapeutic concentrations of amikacin, cephalothin, chloramphenicol, gentamicin, kanamycin, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. Other aerobic and anaerobic bacteria were recovered frequently with the organism.

Use of a toxoid vaccine to protect goats against intradermal challenge exposure to Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis.

Two groups of male, 9-week-old goats (5 goats/group) were vaccinated subcutaneously with formalized exotoxin of Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis, with Freund's incomplete adjuvant. Each goat was given 2 vaccinations, 2 weeks apart. At each vaccination, each group 1 goat was given 0.5 ml of toxoid, and each group 2 goat was given 1 ml of toxoid. Twenty days after the 2nd vaccination, vaccinated goats and 5 nonvaccinated 12-week-old goats (controls) were inoculated intradermally (challenge exposed) with live C pseudotuberculosis, monitored for 13 weeks, and euthanatized. At necropsy, 5 of the 10 vaccinated goats did not have C pseudotuberculosis lesions, 3 had abscesses limited to the inoculation site and draining lymph node, and 2 had disseminated bacterial lesions. Of the 5 nonvaccinated controls, 4 had disseminated abscesses and 1 had a single abscess in an internal node. Serologically, 9 of the 10 vaccinated goats developed positive (greater than or equal to 1:8) antibody titers against the exotoxin within 1 week after inoculation; the 10th goat seroconverted 2 weeks after inoculation, whereas control goats required 3 weeks to develop a positive antibody response. Therefore, early during an infection with C pseudotuberculosis, antibodies against the exotoxin may protect a goat against spread of the organism. All goats were injected intradermally before challenge exposure, 10 days after challenge exposure, and at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after challenge exposure with a skin-test reagent composed of fragmented bacterial cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aspergillus deflectus infection in four dogs.

Four cases of disseminated aspergillosis caused by Aspergillus deflectus in German Shepherds are presented. Three of the cases, which involved multiple organs, terminated in euthanasia. One case, with bony involvement of the limbs and skull, lived. The unique morphological characteristic of the conidial head resembling a briar pipe led to the identification of A. deflectus. To the authors' knowledge these are the first reported cases of infections caused by A. deflectus in man or animal.

Association of age of ram with distribution of epididymal lesions and etiologic agent.

A 2-year study of the frequency of isolation of various organisms from mature and yearling rams with epididymitis was conducted at the US Sheep Experiment Station at Dubois, Idaho. Investigation into the distribution of lesions in the epididymis in relation to age of the ram also was studied. Serologic or bacteriologic evidence of Brucella ovis infection was demonstrated in 79.5% of the mature rams with epididymal lesions. Actinobacillus seminis and Histophilus ovis were the 2 most frequently isolated organisms from yearling rams with lesions. The tail(s) of the epididymis was the most frequent site of lesion development in the mature rams (86.4%). Yearling rams developed lesions twice as frequently in the tail(s) of the epididymis as in the head(s) of the epididymis. When lesions were localized in the head(s) of the epididymis, an etiologic agent usually was not demonstrated.

Characteristics of Salmonella isolated from animals at a veterinary medical teaching hospital.

Salmonella belonging to 47 serotypes was isolated from animals at the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital during the years 1974 to 1983. Salmonella belonging to 12 serotypes accounted for 89% of the 725 isolates. Salmonella typhimurium (including var copenhagen) was the most commonly isolated serotype, but during 1981 to 1983, S krefeld and S saint-paul were predominant. Certain serotypes seemed to be isolated more frequently from extraintestinal sources (S typhi-suis, S dublin). Although resistance to ampicillin, kanamycin, neomycin, streptomycin, and sulfonamides was common (greater than 60% of the isolates were resistant), resistance to chloramphenicol, gentamicin, and trimethoprim-sulfonamides was infrequent, except for isolates of S krefeld and S saint-paul.

Serologic response and lesions in goats experimentally infected with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis of caprine and equine origins.

Fifteen goat kids were experimentally inoculated with Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis. Five were given a strain of caprine origin (nitrate-negative biotype) intradermally, 5 were given a strain of equine origin (nitrate-positive biotype) intradermally, and 5 were inoculated intranasally with the caprine-origin strain. Animals were monitored for 127 days. The goats given the inocula intradermally developed abscesses; those given caprine-origin strain had multiple lesions both peripherally and in visceral locations (primarily endothoracic abscesses), whereas those given the equine-origin strain had abscesses only at injection sites and draining nodes. The difference in extent of lesions could be due to biotypic bacterial differences or to the individual strains used. Intranasally inoculated goats did not develop abscesses and were essentially no different from controls. The cranial part of the respiratory tract may not be an important portal of entry for C pseudotuberculosis. Serum samples obtained monthly from all animals were subjected to the synergistic hemolysis-inhibition test, which measures antibodies to the exotoxin of C pseudotuberculosis. Animals with abscesses developed titers within 1 month of inoculation. Animals without abscesses remained seronegative. The synergistic hemolysis-inhibition test may be a reliable diagnostic assay for caseous lymphadenitis in goats.

Use of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for detection of antibodies to Brucella ovis in sheep: field trial.

An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), using an autoclave-extracted soluble antigen, for the detection of serum antibodies to Brucella ovis in sheep was developed. The test seemed to be both sensitive and specific, on the basis of the control groups studied. The antigen showed no deterioration in prepared plates stored at -70 C for up to a year. The ELISA was used in conjunction with palpation of rams for epididymal lesions as a means to detect and control B ovis infection in a naturally infected flock. All rams were evaluated by the ELISA. At the time that the first blood sample was obtained, all positive and suspicious reactors were removed. With subsequent blood sample collections, only the positive reactors were removed. Brucella ovis was not isolated from any rams during the following year, and none of the mature breeding rams developed epididymal lesions.

Changes in prevalence and susceptibility of obligate anaerobes in clinical veterinary practice.

Of 3,133 clinical specimens obtained from domestic animals, 26% contained species of bacteria that were obligate anaerobes. Members of the genera Bacteroides, Fusobacterium, and Peptostreptococcus accounted for 77% of the isolates. On the average, 2 species of obligate anaerobes were found in each specimen, usually admixed with facultatively anaerobic bacteria. Of those specimens containing an obligate anaerobe, 20% contained one isolate that was resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, and cephalothin. These resistant isolates belonged to the genus Bacteroides, the most common being Bacteroides fragilis. Approximately one third of these penicillin-resistant isolates was resistant to tetracycline as well. All isolates were susceptible to chloramphenicol, tetracycline (excluding penicillin-resistant Bacteroides), metronidazole, and clindamycin.

Nocardia asteroides infection in horses: a review.

From 1965 to 1983, Nocardia asteroides infection was diagnosed in 16 horses at the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital, University of California, Davis. In 2 of the cases, the infection was traumatic in origin and local in extent; the horses recovered without relevant antimicrobial therapy. Fourteen horses had pulmonary or disseminated infections that ended fatally. All 14 had various degrees of immunosuppression. Of these, 8 were Arabian foals with combined immunodeficiency disease and 3 were aged horses with hyperadrenocorticism secondary to ACTH-secreting pituitary tumors. Of the other 3, one had lymphosarcoma, another, hepatic disease presumed to be of toxic origin, and the third, a mixed disseminated bacterial infection.

Staphylococci in canine urolithiasis: species identification, using a commercially available tray micromethod.

Fifty-one coagulase-positive staphylococcal isolates from canine urinary calculi or from the urine of dogs with documented urolithiasis, and 17 coagulase-positive staphylococcal isolates from human beings and cattle were identified by a commercially available tray micromethod, as well as by conventional methods. Canine isolates had previously been classified as Staphylococcus aureus on the basis of a positive tube coagulase test. After 5 hours' incubation, the tray method identified all 51 canine urolithiasis isolates as S intermedius, rather than S aureus. All human and bovine isolates were identified as S aureus. Conventional methods supported these findings.

Nutritionally variant streptococci from corneal ulcers in horses.

Of 24 isolates of nutritionally variant streptococci recovered from equine corneal ulcers, 22 were tested for growth requirements, physiological and biochemical reactions, and susceptibility to different antimicrobial agents. Satisfactory growth was obtained by supplementing blood agar and Todd-Hewitt broth with pyridoxal hydrochloride, and all of the media for the culture and the biochemical testing were supplemented with 0.002% of this substance. Biochemical patterns of 12 of the isolates resembled those of two viridans streptococcal species, Streptococcus intermedius and Streptococcus constellatus. Patterns of 10 isolates did not resemble those of any recognized viridans species. All of the isolates were inhibited by less than or equal to 0.25 microgram of erythromycin per ml, less than or equal to 4 micrograms of chloramphenicol per ml, and less than or equal to 4 micrograms of gentamicin per ml, and all but two were inhibited by less than or equal to 0.1 microgram of penicillin per ml.

Species distribution of coagulase-positive staphylococci in animals.

A total of 268 isolates of coagulase-positive staphylococci from a variety of animal species, including dogs, horses, cats, monkeys, goats, and cows, were assigned to species on the basis of the API Staph- Ident system (Analytab Products, Inc., Plainview , N.Y.). Of 195 isolates from dogs, 179 (91.8%) were Staphylococcus intermedius, as were 9 of 25 (36%) isolates from horses, 7 of 15 (46.6%) isolates from cats, and 4 of 6 (66.6%) isolates from goats. Only 1 of 10 isolates from monkeys and none of 7 isolates from cows were S. intermedius. Of the remaining 68 cultures, 63 were identified as Staphylococcus aureus and 5 as Staphylococcus hyicus. The latter identifications were rendered doubtful on the basis of conventional tests. Identification appeared to be more certain in the S. aureus sample than in the S. intermedius sample. Distribution of biotypes within the two bacterial species as represented by different API profile numbers and reactivity on test substrates showed no significant variations among the host species, except for the S. aureus biotypes in dogs. Both Staphylococcus species were represented about equally among samples from different tissues and lesions, apart from skin-related infections in dogs, which were associated exclusively with S. intermedius (P less than 0.01). Differences between S. aureus and S. intermedius in antimicrobial susceptibility patterns, prevalence of clumping factor, and occurrence of beta-toxin were found to be not significant.

Blood culture of the canine patient.

Blood for bacteriologic culture was obtained from 581 sick dogs. Of these, 134 (23%) were considered to have bacteremia. The conditions most frequently associated with bacteremia were malignant neoplasms and infections of the skeletal, cardiovascular, and urogenital systems. The most frequently isolated bacteria were members of the family Enterobacteriaceae and coagulase-positive staphylococci, in sum accounting for more than 50% of the 150 isolates. Most of the dogs with bacteremia had high proportions of immature neutrophils, segmented neutrophils, and monocytes in blood. Dogs with bacteremia and osteomyelitis due to staphylococci had normal hemograms. Blood from dogs with bacteremia due to gram-negative bacteria was more likely to have a high proportion of immature and segmented neutrophil leukocytes than was blood from dogs with bacteremia due to a gram-positive species. Toxic neutrophils were observed more often in blood obtained from patients with bacteremia due to gram-negative bacteria. The development of fever correlated with the bacteremic state regardless of the species of bacteria in the blood.