scholarly journals Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 infection in a captive Seba’s short tailed-fruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) colony in Switzerland

2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Hahn ◽  
I. B. Veiga ◽  
M. Schediwy ◽  
D. Wiederkehr ◽  
M. Meniri ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Between February and April 2016, a slight increase in mortality was observed in a colony consisting of 400 captive Seba’s short-tailed bats (Carollia perspicillata). These animals cohabited with other nocturnal animal species in a dome of a private zoo in Switzerland. Results Gross and histological analysis of two (14.3%) out of the 13 animals submitted for necropsy within this period revealed a necrosuppurative pneumonia, hepatitis, splenitis, enterocolitis, and endometritis, with abundant intralesional colonies of Gram-negative rods. Yersinia (Y.) pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 and biotype 1 belonging to the sequence type ST90 was isolated from the affected organs in both animals. Following this diagnosis, ¼ of the colony (99 animals) was culled and submitted for gross and histopathological analysis, and a bacterial culture selective for Yersinia spp. of lung, liver, and spleen was performed. From these 99 animals, one gravid female was tested and found to be positive for Y. pseudotuberculosis in the absence of clinical symptoms and histopathological lesions. PCR analysis of altogether three bacterial isolates for virulence factors revealed the presence of the ail gene, and one isolate was also positive for the virF and yadA plasmid genes. Conclusions These findings suggest that Carollia perspicillata are susceptible to lethal yersiniosis but do not represent a regular reservoir for Y. pseudotuberculosis. Culling of ¼ of the population was sufficient to limit the spread of this infection among the colony. Moreover, no infections were detected in cohabitant nocturnal animals and caretakers, indicating that the zoonotic risk in this case was low.

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 191
Author(s):  
Lucia Rivas ◽  
Hugo Strydom ◽  
Shevaun Paine ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Jackie Wright

The rate of yersiniosis in New Zealand (NZ) is high compared with other developed countries, and rates have been increasing over recent years. Typically, >99% of human cases in NZ are attributed to Yersinia enterocolitica (YE), although in 2014, a large outbreak of 220 cases was caused by Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. Up until 2012, the most common NZ strain was YE biotype 4. The emergent strain since this time is YE biotype 2/3 serotype O:9. The pathogenic potential of some YE biotypes remains unclear. Most human cases of yersiniosis are considered sporadic without an identifiable source. Key restrictions in previous investigations included insufficient sensitivity for the isolation of Yersinia spp. from foods, although foodborne transmission is the most likely route of infection. In NZ, YE has been isolated from a variety of sick and healthy domestic and farm animals but the pathways from zoonotic reservoir to human remain unproven. Whole-genome sequencing provides unprecedented discriminatory power for typing Yersinia and is now being applied to NZ epidemiological investigations. A “One-Health” approach is necessary to elucidate the routes of transmission of Yersinia and consequently inform targeted interventions for the prevention and management of yersiniosis in NZ


Microbiology ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 151 (12) ◽  
pp. 4093-4102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saija Kiljunen ◽  
Kristo Hakala ◽  
Elise Pinta ◽  
Suvi Huttunen ◽  
Patrycja Pluta ◽  
...  

Bacteriophage ϕR1-37 was isolated based on its ability to infect strain YeO3-R1, a virulence-plasmid-cured O antigen-negative derivative of Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O : 3. In this study, the phage receptor was found to be a structure in the outer core hexasaccharide of Y. enterocolitica O : 3 LPS. The phage receptor was present in the outer core of strains of many other Y. enterocolitica serotypes, but also in some Yersinia intermedia strains. Surprisingly, the receptor structure resided in the O antigen of Yersinia pseudotuberculosis O : 9. Electron microscopy demonstrated that ϕR1-37 particles have an icosahedral head of 88 nm, a short neck of 10 nm, a long contractile tail of 236 nm, and tail fibres of at least 86 nm. This implies that the phage belongs to the order Caudovirales and the family Myoviridae in the ICTV (International Committee for Taxonomy of Viruses) classification. ϕR1-37 was found to have a lytic life cycle, with eclipse and latent periods of 40 and 50 min, respectively, and a burst size of ∼80 p.f.u. per infected cell. Restriction digestions and PFGE showed that the ϕR1-37 genome was dsDNA and ∼270 kb in size. Enzymically hydrolysed DNA was subjected to HPLC-MS/MS analysis, which demonstrated that the ϕR1-37 genome is composed of DNA in which thymidine (T) is >99 % replaced by deoxyuridine (dU). The only organisms known to have similar DNA are the Bacillus subtilis-specific bacteriophages PBS1 and PBS2. N-terminal amino acid sequences of four major structural proteins did not show any similarity to (viral) protein sequences in databases, indicating that close relatives of ϕR1-37 have not yet been characterized. Genes for two of the structural proteins, p24 and p46, were identified from the partially sequenced ϕR1-37 genome.


Reproduction ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
pp. 743-757 ◽  
Author(s):  
John J Rasweiler ◽  
Nilima K Badwaik ◽  
Kiranmayi V Mechineni

To better document the timing of ovulation and fertilization, female reproductive tracts were collected every 12 h from captive-bred fruit bats (Carollia perspicillata) on days 1–3 postcoitum and examined histologically. This also permitted observations on sperm transport, storage, and disposition. As the animals had previously been sexually segregated, most had been cycling and possessed menstrual uteri at the time of collection. Menstruation is periovulatory in this species. A widespread, headfirst orientation of spermatozoa to the uterine mucosa was observed in specimens apparently collected soon after insemination. Thereafter, however, this relationship was limited in most cases to the area around the entrance of each uterotubal junction (UTJ). A small number of spermatozoa also colonized the UTJs, which functioned as temporary sperm reservoirs on days 1–2. AlthoughC. perspicillatais monovular, no consistent differences were observed between the two oviducts in the pattern of sperm storage and release. Very few sperm were ever observed in the isthmus or ampulla (the site of fertilization). Menstrual debris (including fine particulate matter) and leukocytes present in the uterine cavity in most tracts did not gain access to the UTJ with the spermatozoa. Smooth muscle and abundant elastic fibers in the wall of the intramural UTJ, as well as receptors on its luminal epithelial cells, may play roles in the selective transport of spermatozoa to the fertilization site. While some spermatozoa are phagocytosed in the uterine lumen or by epithelial cells in the UTJ, the fate of most is probably expulsion into the vagina.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (Aquaculture) ◽  
pp. 79-85
Author(s):  
Thi Hoang Oanh Dang ◽  
Thi Nhu Thuy Nguyen ◽  
Ngoc Ut Vu

A total of 291 white leg shrimp samples were collected from 70 cultured ponds in Soc Trang, Bac Lieu and Ca Mau provinces in the Mekong Delta and subjected to endoparasitic detection in the digestive tract. Collected shrimps displayed unhealthy behaviors such as stop or less feeding and lethagic swimming. Pathological signs in the gastrointestinal tract include (1) empty midgut and stomach together with pale and atrophy hepatopancreas; (2) empty, little or discontinued food in the midgut; (3) slow growth and variation in sizes; and (4) white feces. The results from fresh and Giemsa stained smears methods revealed that 96.5% of sampled shrimps were infected by gregarine parasite at different developmental stages. A prevalence infection of 24.7% was recorded with Vermiform present in the hepatopancreas by fresh smear and histology. Histopathological analysis noted that 7.9% of collected shrimp samples had Enterocytozoon hepatopenaei (EHP) spores in hepatopancreas and midgut and confirmed by PCR analysis.


1993 ◽  
Vol 265 (3) ◽  
pp. G572-G578 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Peeling ◽  
L. Shoemaker ◽  
T. Gauthier ◽  
A. Benarroch ◽  
G. R. Sutherland ◽  
...  

Acute liver failure was induced in rats by successive administrations of thioacetamide over 3 days. At progressing stages of hepatic encephalopathy (HE), brains were fixed with microwave irradiation for analysis of metabolite levels or with formaldehyde for histopathological analysis. Metabolite levels were determined using 1H-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy of perchloric acid extracts of the frontal cortex, parietal or occipital cortex, hippocampus, striatum, brain stem, and cerebellum. After thioacetamide treatment, thioacetamide and its metabolites were detected in the brains at levels that did not correlate with the stage of HE. No changes were observed in the levels of N-acetylaspartate, alanine, gamma-aminobutyric acid, aspartate, or inositol in any brain region after thioacetamide treatment. HE was accompanied by elevated glutamine, glucose, and lactate throughout the brain. At all stages of HE, taurine was decreased in the neocortex and hippocampus, and glutamate and choline compounds were decreased in the frontal cortex. None of the metabolite changes showed progression with the stage of HE. Progressing HE was accompanied by increasing neuronal injury in layer III of the neocortex, in the Purkinje cells of the cerebellum, and in the hippocampus, particularly in the CA4 sector. The similarity of this distribution of injury to that associated with excitotoxic injury suggests that metabolic abnormalities after acute hepatic failure may give rise to adverse effects at excitatory (glutamatergic) neuronal receptors, leading to neuronal injury and clinical symptoms of progressing encephalopathy in this model. However, neuronal injury and the presence of thioacetamide and its metabolites in the brain raise questions about the validity of thioacetamide-induced liver failure as a model for clinical HE.


2012 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 157-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Mischnik ◽  
Tillman Dahme ◽  
Raffi Bekeredjian ◽  
Stefan Zimmermann

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