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. 2017 Dec 2;13(1):373.
doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1294-y.

Neglected zoonotic agents in cattle abortion: tackling the difficult to grow bacteria

Sara Vidal  1   2 , Kristel Kegler  3 , Gilbert Greub  4 , Sebastien Aeby  4 , Nicole Borel  5 , Mark P Dagleish  6 , Horst Posthaus  3 , Vincent Perreten  1 , Sabrina Rodriguez-Campos  7
Affiliations

Neglected zoonotic agents in cattle abortion: tackling the difficult to grow bacteria

Sara Vidal et al. BMC Vet Res. .

Abstract

Background: Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydia abortus and Leptospira spp. are difficult to grow bacteria that play a role in bovine abortion, but their diagnosis is hampered by their obligate intracellular lifestyle (C. burnetii, C. abortus) or their lability (Leptospira spp.). Their importance is based on the contagious spread in food-producing animals, but also as zoonotic agents. In Switzerland, first-line routine bacteriological diagnostics in cattle abortions is regulated by national law and includes only basic screening by staining for C. burnetii due to the high costs associated with extended spectrum analysis. The aim of this study was to assess the true occurrence of these zoonotic pathogens in 249 cases of bovine abortion in Switzerland by serology (ELISA for anti-C. burnetii and C. abortus antibodies and microscopic agglutination test for anti-Leptospira spp. antibodies), molecular methods (real-time PCR and sequencing of PCR products of Chlamydiales-positive cases), Stamp's modification of the Ziehl-Neelsen (mod-ZN) stain and, upon availability of material, by histology and immunohistochemistry (IHC).

Results: After seroanalysis the prevalence was 15.9% for C. burnetii, 38.5% for C. abortus and 21.4% for Leptospira spp. By real-time PCR 12.1% and 16.9% of the cases were positive for C. burnetii and Chlamydiales, respectively, but only 2.4% were positive for C. burnetii or Chlamydiales by mod-ZN stain. Sequencing of PCR products of Chlamydiales-positive cases revealed C. abortus in 10% of cases and the presence of a mix of Chlamydiales-related bacteria in 5.2% of cases. Pathogenic Leptospira spp. were detected in 5.6% of cases. Inflammatory lesions were present histologically in all available samples which were real-time PCR-positive for Chlamydiales and Leptospira spp. One of 12 real-time PCR-positive cases for C. burnetii was devoid of histological lesions. None of the pathogens could be detected by IHC.

Conclusion: Molecular detection by real-time PCR complemented by histopathological analysis is recommended to improve definitive diagnosis of bovine abortion cases and determine a more accurate prevalence of these zoonotic pathogens.

Keywords: Bovine abortion; Chlamydiales; Coxiella burnetii; Leptospira spp.; Zoonosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Ethics approval and consent to participate

All samples included in this study were received as routine diagnostic submissions for the screening of abortions as prescribed by law.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Incidence of placenta and abomasal content samples that were positive by real-time PCR for Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydiales and/or pathogenic Leptospira spp.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Incidence of seropositive cases and their corresponding samples that were positive by real-time PCR for Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydiales and/or pathogenic Leptospira spp.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Histopathology of representative placental samples from bovine abortions positive by real-time PCR for: Coxiella burnetii (a), Chlamydia abortus (b) and pathogenic Leptospira spp. (c). Infection with either C. burnetii (a) or C. abortus (b) was characterized by variable degrees of vasculitis (arrow) and necrosis (arrowhead). Cases positive for pathogenic Leptospira spp. by real-time PCR (c) showed variable severities of necrosis (arrowhead) and lacked vasculitis. HE, bar 100 μm
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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