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Case Reports
. 2015 Feb-Apr;152(2-3):269-73.
doi: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2014.12.012. Epub 2015 Feb 9.

Isolation and phylogenetic characterization of Streptococcus halichoeri from a European badger (Meles meles) with pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia

B Moreno  1 , R Bolea  2 , M Morales  3 , I Martín-Burriel  4 , Ch González  5 , J J Badiola  6
Affiliations
Case Reports

Isolation and phylogenetic characterization of Streptococcus halichoeri from a European badger (Meles meles) with pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia

B Moreno et al. J Comp Pathol. 2015 Feb-Apr.

Abstract

Clinical and pathological studies in European badgers (Meles meles) are limited. Badgers play a significant role in the epidemiology of bovine tuberculosis (TB) in some countries and an accurate diagnosis is needed for this infection. However, the lesions of bovine TB are similar to those associated with other pathogens, making pathological diagnosis difficult. In the present study, Streptococcus halichoeri was isolated from a European badger with pyogranulomatous pleuropneumonia and suspected of having tuberculosis. TB and other pathogens able to induce similar lesions were ruled out. Comparative 16S rRNA and rpoB gene sequencing studies showed an identity of 99.51% and 98.28%, respectively, with S. halichoeri. This report represents the third description of this bacterium and the first in an animal species other than the grey seal (Halichoerus grypus). It also shows that S. halichoeri can be associated with a pathological process characterized by granulomatous inflammation and resembling tuberculosis.

Keywords: 16S rRNA; Streptococcus halichoeri; badger; pleuropneumonia.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Section of lung, showing severe pyogranulomatous pleuritis with abundant fibrin and numerous neutrophils and macrophages. Alveolar lumina are present at the base of the image. HE. Bar, 200 μm.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Detail of pyogranulomatous pleuritis showing numerous neutrophils and macrophages. Metaplastic mesothelial cells are noted at the top of the image. HE. Bar, 20 μm.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Section of bronchiole showing catarrhal bronchiolitis and a surrounding infiltrate of mononuclear cells. HE. Bar, 20 μm.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Unrooted trees based on 16s rRNA and rpoB gene sequences inferred by using the maximum likelihood method based on the Kimura 2-parameter model. Bootstrap values (expressed as percentages of 1,000 replications) are shown next to the branches. The trees are drawn to scale, with branch lengths measured as the number of substitutions per site (bars, 0.5% and 2% sequence divergence). Selected branches correspond with the groups of the new isolate. The same groups and bootstrap values were obtained in the maximum-parsimony trees (data not shown).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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