Abstract
Objectives: To describe infection in companion animals with the zoonotic pathogen Corynebacterium ulcerans and to determine its prevalence in clinically-affected and healthy animals. Materials and Methods: The clinical presentation and treatment of three cases of C. ulcerans infection is described. Two studies to determine C. ulcerans prevalence rates were undertaken: (a) a prospective study of nasal samples from healthy animals, 479 dogs and 72 cats; (b) a retrospective analysis of records of nasal samples collected over a 10-year period from 189 dogs and 64 cats affected by respiratory signs. Results: Toxigenic C. ulcerans was isolated from four cats with nasal discharge while concurrent C. ulcerans and mecC methicillin-resistant S. aureus infection was detected in a dog suffering from chronic nasal discharge. Clinical features were not distinctive and all cases recovered following antimicrobial treatment. Multilocus sequence typing supported a common source for isolates from the shelter cats. Carriage rates of C. ulcerans in healthy animals were 0.42% (2/479) in dogs and 0.00% (0/72) in cats whereas in animals with signs of upper respiratory tract infection prevalence rates were 0.53% (1/189) in dogs and 6.25% (4/64) in cats. Clinical Significance: Clinicians should be aware that dogs and cats can be infected with (or carriers of) toxigenic C. ulcerans Considering the potential zoonotic risk, assistance from medical and public health colleagues should be sought in confirmed cases.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 554-560 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Journal of Small Animal Practice |
| Volume | 61 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Sept 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:We acknowledge the staff of the Public Health England Vaccine Preventable Bacteria Section, especially Ginder Mann, Zahra Fraz and Samuel Rose, and also Natalie Groves, Respiratory and Vaccine Preventable Bacteria Reference Unit, for species confirmation, Elek testing, bioinformatics analysis and multilocus sequence typing results. We are most grateful to Dr Robert Shiel MVB PhD DECVIM-CA for his helpful comments on the manuscript. The authors have no conflict of interest to declare.
