Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 infection in a captive Seba’s short tailedfruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) colony in Switzerland

Hahn, K.; Veiga, I. B.; Schediwy, M.; Wiederkehr, D.; Meniri, M.; Schneeberger, M.; Rüegg-van den Broek, P.; Gurtner, C.; Fasel, N. J.; Kittl, S.; Fredriksson-Ahomaa, M.; Schmitt, S.; Stokar-Regenscheit, N. (2021). Yersinia pseudotuberculosis serotype O:1 infection in a captive Seba’s short tailedfruit bat (Carollia perspicillata) colony in Switzerland. BMC veterinary research, 17(1), p. 92. BioMed Central 10.1186/s12917-021-02796-y

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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.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Animal Pathology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Virology and Immunology
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Infectious Diseases and Pathobiology (DIP) > Institute of Veterinary Bacteriology

UniBE Contributor:

Hahn, Kerstin Caroline, Berenguer Veiga, Inês Margarida, Schediwy, Marion, Gurtner, Corinne, Kittl, Sonja Cornelia, Stokar von Neuforn, Nadine

Subjects:

600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)

ISSN:

1746-6148

Publisher:

BioMed Central

Language:

English

Submitter:

Inês Margarida Berenguer Veiga

Date Deposited:

12 Mar 2021 12:54

Last Modified:

02 Mar 2023 23:34

Publisher DOI:

10.1186/s12917-021-02796-y

PubMed ID:

33639950

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/152970

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/152970

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