Conjunctival flora of clinically normal and diseased turtles and tortoises

Abstract

BackgroundIn captive breed turtles and tortoises conjunctival disease is common. Our aim was to investigate the bacterial and fungal flora present in the eyes of healthy and pathological chelonians and to compare findings in turtles with those in tortoises.ResultsSamples were taken from the conjunctival sacs of 34, diseased and healthy, chelonians (18 tortoises and 16 turtles) and submitted to bacterial and fungal investigation. All samples showed bacterial growth. Thirteen animals (38%), harboured a single bacterial species as sole isolate and twenty-one animals (62%) harboured more than one species. Detection of multiple bacterial infection was clearly greater in tortoises compared to turtles. Most frequently isolated bacterial species were Bacillus spp. (13 isolates), Staphylococcus xylosus (10 isolates), Sphingomonas paucimobilis (6 isolates), Staphylococcus sciuri and Aeromonas hydrophila/caviae (each 5 isolates), Ochrobactrum anthropi (3 isolates), Citrobacter freundii, Enterobacter cloacae and Pseudomonas luteola (each 2 isolates). Only one isolate of Kocuria varians/rosea, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus auricularis, Staphylococcus haemolyticus, Staphylococcus lentus, Morganella morganii, Pasteurella multocida, Pasteurella pneumotropica/haemolytica, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas putida, Salmonella enterica ssp. arizonae, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Vibrio parahaemolyticus was evidenced. The presence in 8 animals of Mycoplasma spp. and in 1 animal with severe conjunctivitis of Chlamydia spp. was detected by PCR. Candida spp. was also isolated from two healthy animals.ConclusionsA clear predominance of Gram positive isolates in tortoises and Gram negative isolates in turtles was found. However, we cannot ascribe the observed difference to the diversity of animal species, as other factors, including especially different characteristics of the living environments, may play a role. Almost all bacterial species isolated may have clinical significance, mostly as opportunistic pathogens, both for humans and animals. That chelonians are often carrier of bacteria with zoonotic potential is a well-known fact, in particular with regard to Salmonella spp. Therefore, it is not surprising the detection of a strain of Salmonella enterica ssp. arizonae in the eye of one of the animals tested. Worthy of note is the finding of Chlamydia spp. in a severe case of conjunctivitis, though we cannot epidemiologically assess a cause-effect relationship between presence of chlamydia and disease.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12917-015-0405-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Conjunctival bacterial flora and antimicrobial susceptibility of captive and free‐living sea turtles in Brazil

“…Culture of the microorganisms was performed using Petri dishes with 6% sheep blood agar, eosin methylene blue agar, and tryptose broth. Dishes were incubated at 37°C in an aerobic environment for 24‐48 hours for identification of the mesophilic bacteria (growth range between 25‐40°C) . After growth, the colonies were identified based on the presence or absence of hemolysis on blood agar, and morphological and biochemical characteristics according to routine laboratory techniques (catalase test, oxidation‐fermentation test, coagulase test, oxidase test, methyl red test, motility test, triple sugar iron, indole production, Simmons citrate agar, urease, malonate, and carbohydrate fermentation: glucose, sucrose, lactose, mannitol, adonitol, arabinose, and dulcitol) .…”

Draft Genomic Analysis of an Avian Multidrug Resistant Morganella morganii Isolate Carrying qnrD1

“…This bacterium has also been associated with infections in animals and with human animal bite wound infections, which suggests that M. morganii may also cause zoonotic infectious diseases (Ono et al, 2001; Choi et al, 2002; Abrahamian and Goldstein, 2011; Zhao et al, 2012; Di Ianni et al, 2015). …”

Gut microbiota isolated from the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis) and its antimicrobial resistance

“…M. morganii also has been regarded as a harmless opportunistic pathogen, but some strains carry plasmids encoding antimicrobial resistance and have been associated with nosocomial human outbreaks (Senior and Voros 1990). Recently, this microorganism has been isolated from the turtle with conjunctivitis (Di Ianni et al 2015).…”

“…Antimicrobial treatment may also influence the microbiota -particularly in treated animals because infections in turtles are quite frequent (Di Ianni et al 2015). In veterinary medicine, reptiles are treated as minor species, and there are no indications or determined doses of antibiotics for their treatment.…”