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BMC Veterinary Research Jan 2019Severe outbreaks of bovine interdigital phlegmon (IP) have occurred recently in several free stall dairy herds in Finland. We studied the aetiology of IP in such herds,...
BACKGROUND
Severe outbreaks of bovine interdigital phlegmon (IP) have occurred recently in several free stall dairy herds in Finland. We studied the aetiology of IP in such herds, and the association of bacterial species with the various stages of IP and herds of various morbidity of IP. Nineteen free stall dairy herds with IP outbreaks and three control herds were visited and bacteriological samples collected from cows suffering from IP (n = 106), other hoof diseases (n = 58), and control cows (n = 64). The herds were divided into high morbidity (morbidity ≥50%) and moderate morbidity groups (9-33%) based on morbidity during the first two months of the outbreak.
RESULTS
F. necrophorum subspecies necrophorum was clearly associated with IP in general, and T. pyogenes was associated with the healing stage of IP. Six other major hoof pathogens were detected; Dichelobacter nodosus, Porphyromonas levii, Prevotella melaninogenica, Treponema spp. and Trueperella pyogenes. Most of the samples of acute IP (66.7%) harboured both F. necrophorum and D. nodosus. We found differences between moderate morbidity and high morbidity herds. D. nodosus was more common in IP lesion in high than in moderate morbidity herds.
CONCLUSIONS
Our result confirms that F. necrophorum subspecies necrophorum is the main pathogen in IP, but also T. pyogenes is associated with the healing stage of IP. Our results suggest that D. nodosus may play a role in the severity of the outbreak of IP, but further research is needed to establish other bacteriological factors behind these severe outbreaks.
Topics: Animals; Bacteria; Bacterial Physiological Phenomena; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Cellulitis; Dairying; Finland; Hoof and Claw; Microbial Interactions
PubMed: 30696445
DOI: 10.1186/s12917-019-1788-x -
Veterinary Microbiology Apr 2016Although treponemes are consistently identified in tissue from bovine digital dermatitis (DD) lesions, the definitive etiology of this debilitating polymicrobial disease...
Although treponemes are consistently identified in tissue from bovine digital dermatitis (DD) lesions, the definitive etiology of this debilitating polymicrobial disease is still unresolved. To study the microbiomes of 27 DD-infected and 10 healthy interdigital skin samples, we used a combination of different molecular methods. Deep sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene variable regions V1-V2 showed that Treponema, Mycoplasma, Fusobacterium and Porphyromonas were the genera best differentiating the DD samples from the controls. Additional deep sequencing analysis of the most abundant genus, Treponema, targeting another variable region of the 16S rRNA gene, V3-V4, identified 15 different phylotypes, among which Treponema phagedenis-like and Treponema refringens-like species were the most abundant. Although the presence of Treponema spp., Fusobacterium necrophorum and Porphyromonas levii was confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), the results for Mycoplasma spp. were inconclusive. Extensive treponemal epidermal infiltration, constituting more than 90% of the total bacterial population, was observed in 24 of the 27 DD samples. F. necrophorum and P. levii were superficially located in the epidermal lesions and were present in only a subset of samples. RT-qPCR analysis showed that treponemes were also actively expressing a panel of virulence factors at the site of infection. Our results further support the hypothesis that species belonging to the genus Treponema are major pathogens of DD and also provide sufficient clues to motivate additional research into the role of M. fermentans, F. necrophorum and P. levii in the etiology of DD.
Topics: Animals; Biodiversity; Cattle; Cattle Diseases; Digital Dermatitis; Gram-Negative Bacteria; Gram-Negative Bacterial Infections; Microbiota; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Skin; Virulence Factors
PubMed: 27016768
DOI: 10.1016/j.vetmic.2016.03.003 -
Schweizer Archiv Fur Tierheilkunde Dec 2022Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an emerging infectious foot disease in sheep. To date, CODD has been described in Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and...
Contagious ovine digital dermatitis (CODD) is an emerging infectious foot disease in sheep. To date, CODD has been described in Great Britain, Ireland, Sweden and Germany and now in Switzerland for the first time. Unlike foot rot, the CODD lesions do not spread from the interdigital space, but usually begin at the dorsal/abaxial coronary band. The changes can spread to the hoof wall and the sole and finally can lead to exungulation, similar to foot rot. Treponema spp. are often found in CODD lesions analogous to digital dermatitis (Mortellaro's disease) in cattle. Involvement of Dichelobacter nodosus (D. nodosus) is considered a risk factor, but the presence of the bacterium is not mandatory. In February 2022, ulcerative lesions in the dorso-axial coronary band area were noticed on both claws of the left forelimb in an ewe. Histology of the biopsy showed hyperkeratosis and erosion with exocytosis and crust formation. Treponema spp. PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) were positive for Treponema phylotype 1 (PT1). In addition, D. nodosus and Porphyromonas levii could be detected in the biopsy using PCR. A single local application of chlortetracycline spray led to clinical healing within two weeks, no recurrence was seen within the following two months. Three control sheep, which were kept together with the diseased sheep, did not show any clinical signs of CODD. Treponema spp could not be found in interdigital and coronary band biopsies by PCR or FISH. This is the first description of CODD in Switzerland and aims to sensitize veterinarians to CODD as a differential diagnosis for foot diseases in sheep.
Topics: Animals; Female; Dichelobacter nodosus; Digital Dermatitis; Foot Rot; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Sheep; Sheep Diseases; Switzerland; Treponema
PubMed: 36454014
DOI: 10.17236/sat00378 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2022The increasing prevalence of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) contributes to a higher occurrence of secondary infections of exposed corium with spp. in bovine claws....
The increasing prevalence of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) contributes to a higher occurrence of secondary infections of exposed corium with spp. in bovine claws. "Non-healing" claw horn lesions (NHL) clinically resemble BDD lesions. They are severe, cause chronic lameness, and may persist for several months. They poorly respond to standard treatments of BDD and represent a serious welfare issue. In this study, four cases of NHL were classified clinically either as BDD-associated axial horn fissures (BDD-HFA; = 3) or BDD-associated sole ulcer (BDD-SU; = 1). In all four cases, pronounced multifocal keratinolysis of the stratum corneum, ulceration, and severe chronic lymphoplasmacytic perivascular to interstitial dermatitis were observed. All lesional samples tested positive for spp., (.) , and (.) by PCRs. BDD-HFA lesions contained as revealed by genetic identities of 93, 99, and 100%. Treponemes in the BDD-SU lesion were 94% homologous to phylotype PT3. Fluorescent hybridization (FISH) revealed extensive epidermal infiltration by treponemes that made up > 90% of the total bacterial population in all four lesions. FISH also tested positive for and negative for in all four cases, whilst only one BDD-HFA contained . Our data point to BDD-associated treponemes and constituting potential etiological agents in the development of "non-healing" claw horn lesions in cattle.
PubMed: 36337205
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.1041215 -
Journal of Clinical Microbiology Mar 2015A yet-undescribed bacterial species, tentatively named "Porphyromonas katsikii," was isolated from individuals of a small goat herd with pyogranulomatous pneumonia...
A yet-undescribed bacterial species, tentatively named "Porphyromonas katsikii," was isolated from individuals of a small goat herd with pyogranulomatous pneumonia during an outbreak of acute respiratory disease. The isolated bacteria grew in the form of black-pigmented colonies after 14 days of incubation under anaerobic conditions at 37°C on a tryptic soy blood agar medium. The bacteria were identified as a yet-undescribed Porphyromonas species by determination of the nucleotide sequence of the rrs 16S rRNA gene, and this species was tentatively named Porphyromonas katsikii. PCR amplification with specific primers for this yet-undescribed species revealed the presence of P. katsikii in the lung tissue of all affected animals, while no PCR signals were evidenced from the lungs of healthy goats or from goats with pasteurellosis caused by Mannheimia haemolytica. These data indicate P. katsikii as the causative agent of acute respiratory distress. P. katsikii is phylogenetically related to Porphyromonas somerae and Porphyromonas levii, which cause pathologies in humans and animals, respectively. P. katsikii was not detected by PCR from samples of the gingival pockets or of the faces of healthy goats.
Topics: Anaerobiosis; Animals; Bacteriological Techniques; Cluster Analysis; DNA, Bacterial; DNA, Ribosomal; Disease Outbreaks; Goat Diseases; Goats; Lung; Molecular Sequence Data; Phylogeny; Pigments, Biological; Pneumonia, Bacterial; Porphyromonas; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Sequence Analysis, DNA; Temperature
PubMed: 25540395
DOI: 10.1128/JCM.02682-14 -
Schweizer Archiv Fur Tierheilkunde Dec 2023Diseases of the digits often occur in cattle on larger cattle mountain pastures. In the late spring 2020, at the time of the ascent of 1554 cattle to 11 high altitude...
Diseases of the digits often occur in cattle on larger cattle mountain pastures. In the late spring 2020, at the time of the ascent of 1554 cattle to 11 high altitude alpine pastures in the Lower Engadine region, lesions in the area of the digits were clinically assessed and documented. 254 cattle were of non-cantonal and 1300 of local origin (Lower Engadine; postal code CH-75XX). Skin lesions in the area of the digits, identified as digital dermatitis (DD; Mortellaro's disease), were further classified according to the DD scoring system. Nonspecific skin lesions with clinical evidence of granulation tissue formation were termed chronic penetrating skin lesions (CPSL). At the end of the alpine pasturing season, in the early fall (descent of cattle from the alpine pastures), the procedure was repeated, and biopsies were taken from randomly selected cattle with CPSL. Digital dermatitis lesions were found in 34 of 1551 cattle at ascent, but no case of CPSL was found at that time. At descent, 19 of 1529 cattle had DD lesions and 88 cattle had CPSL. The clinical appearance of the CPSL was consistent with chronic skin lesions caused by penetrating skin lacerations. Histologically, the majority of the CPSL were classified as chronic hyperplastic dermatitis with granulation tissue formation. In all CPSL biopsies examined by PCR, Fusobacterium necrophorum and Porphyromonas levii, but neither Dichelobacter nodosus nor the tested Treponema species were detected. Fluorescence in situ hybridization revealed a negative result for Treponema species in all biopsies. In the regression analysis, cattle in the age group of 365 to 730 days had an increased risk for the presence of CPSL compared to the age group of 160 to 365 days (odds ratio (OR) = 4,95; confidence interval (CI) = 1,97-12,43). Holstein cattle had an increased risk of developing CPSL compared to Brown cattle (OR = 2,92; CI = 1,46-5,86) and cattle of non-cantonal origin showed a massively higher risk compared to local cattle (OR = 10,59; CI = 5,79 - 19,37). The statistically significant associations found in the present study can be taken into account in the selection of animals for summer pasturing on high altitudes in the future in order to reduce the prevalence of CPSL and consequently reduce the antimicrobial use. Spread of DD during the alpine pasturing season within the cattle groups examined was not found.
Topics: Cattle; Animals; Digital Dermatitis; In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence; Switzerland; Cattle Diseases; Treponema; Risk Factors
PubMed: 38014543
DOI: 10.17236/sat00412