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Case Reports
. 2006 Dec;44(12):4363-70.
doi: 10.1128/JCM.00680-06. Epub 2006 Oct 11.

Characterization of a Brucella sp. strain as a marine-mammal type despite isolation from a patient with spinal osteomyelitis in New Zealand

W L McDonald  1 , R Jamaludin, G Mackereth, M Hansen, S Humphrey, P Short, T Taylor, J Swingler, C E Dawson, A M Whatmore, E Stubberfield, L L Perrett, G Simmons
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Case Reports

Characterization of a Brucella sp. strain as a marine-mammal type despite isolation from a patient with spinal osteomyelitis in New Zealand

W L McDonald et al. J Clin Microbiol. 2006 Dec.

Abstract

Naturally acquired infection of humans with a marine mammal-associated Brucella sp. has only been reported once previously in a study describing infections of two patients from Peru. We report the isolation and characterization of a strain of Brucella from a New Zealand patient that appears most closely related to strains previously identified from marine mammals. The isolate was preliminarily identified as Brucella suis using conventional bacteriological tests in our laboratory. However, the results profile was not an exact match, and the isolate was forwarded to four international reference laboratories for further identification. The reference laboratories identified the isolate as either B. suis or B. melitensis by traditional bacteriological methods in three laboratories and by a molecular test in the fourth laboratory. Molecular characterization by PCR, PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and DNA sequencing of the bp26 gene; IS711; the omp genes omp25, omp31, omp2a, and omp2b; IRS-PCR fragments I, III, and IV; and five housekeeping gene fragments was conducted to resolve the discrepant identification of the isolate. The isolate was identified to be closely related to a Brucella sp. originating from a United States bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) and common seals (Phoca vitulina).

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Restriction digestion of omp2a PCR product with HinfI (A), PstI (B), AluI (C), and BanI (D). Lanes: 1, B. abortus bv. 2; 2, B. abortus bv. 9; 3, B. ovis; 4, B. canis; 5, B. suis bv. 3; 6, B. melitensis; 7, 02/611; 8, marine mammal brucella (seal UK1/03); 9, marine mammal brucella (porpoise UK9/02); 10, marine mammal brucella (United States bottlenose dolphin F5/99); 11, marine mammal brucella (striped dolphin UK59/94); 12, B. ovis; 13, VI marker (Boehringer-Mannheim).
FIG. 2.
FIG. 2.
Phylogram comparing the omp2a and -2b genes from 02/611 with the omp2a and -2b genes from marine and terrestrial isolates of brucella. Internal nodes are labeled with the percent bootstrap values.
FIG. 3.
FIG. 3.
IS711 fingerprint patterns of Brucella species tested in the present study.
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References

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