Diagnosis, Surveillance and Management of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus Infections in Chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera)

Abstract

During a 6-mo period, two 5-6 mo old female chinchillas (Chinchilla lanigera) were examined at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus after the discovery of firm, nonmobile masses in the left ventral cervical and left axillary region. Other than these findings and mild weight loss, both chinchillas’ physical exams were normal. Bloodwork revealed an inflammatory leukogram characterized by leukocytosis, toxic neutrophils, lymphopenia, and monocytosis with mild, nonregenerative anemia. At necropsy, both masses were identified as abscesses. Streptococcus equi, subspecies zooepidemicus (S.zooepidemicus) was isolated in pure culture. Histology of the lungs, liver, spleen, and kidneys showed a marked increase inthe numbers of both polymorphonuclear leukocytes and lymphocytes. Both animals were deemed unsuitable for research and were euthanized under isoflurane anesthesia by an intracardiac injection of pentobarbital sodium solution. S. zooepidemicus is an opportunistic, commensal organism found in the upper respiratory tract of horses. This organism has been documented to cause disease in other species and is zoonotic. Infections in humans have been reported, resulting in glomerulonephritis,endocarditis, septic arthritis, osteomyelitis, meningitis, and death. To aid in diagnosis and prospective surveillance of this bacteria, oral and nasal swabs were collected from the remaining cohort of chinchillas, and a qPCR screening assay was implemented. Within 12 mo, 4 of 41 additional females tested positive by culture or qPCR, resulting in a disease prevalenceof 14% (6 of 43). However, only 2 of the additional 4 S. zooepidemicus positive animals developed clinical signs. The potential for the spread of infection, zoonosis, and adverse effects on research demonstrate that surveillance for S. zooepidemicusshould be considered in a biomedical research environment.

Prospective bacterial and fungal sources of hyaluronic acid: A review

“…Its main drawback is its high pathogenicity. S. zooepidemicus is an opportunistic pathogen that causes both respiratory [188] and neurological [189] , [190] diseases of varying severity, namely pneumonia [191] , [192] , meningitis [193] , [194] , purulent pericarditis [195] , bacterial arthritis [196] and endometritis [197] , affecting multiple mammal species, in particular, dogs [198] , [199] , horses [200] , [201] , sheep [202] , pigs [203] , cats [204] , [205] , rodents [206] and humans [207] , [208] .…”

Outbreak of Pathogenic Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus in Guinea Pigs Farms of The Andean Region

“…S. zooepidemicus opportunistically produces disease in situations of viral infection, stress, or tissue injury. Its widely ranging pathogenicity includes mastitis in cattle and goats; pneumonia, septicemia, and wound infections in lambs, puppies, and greyhounds; septicemia in chickens, dolphins, swine, guinea pigs, chinchillas, and monkeys [ 3 , 4 ]. In humans, it is associated with nephritis outbreaks and other infections (meningitis, endocarditis) often traced back to the consumption of contaminated dairy products [ 5 ].…”

Zoonotic infection and clonal dissemination of Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus sequence type 194 isolated from humans in Thailand

“…SEZ is a zoonotic pathogen frequently isolated from horses (Waller, 2017). It is also associated with disease in a wide range of other animals including cattle (Sharp et al., 1995), sheep (Las Heras et al., 2002), monkeys (Salasia et al., 2004), chinchillas (Mitchell et al., 2020) and pigs (Chen et al., 2020; Costa & Lage, 2020; Salasia et al., 2004). SEZ virulent strains, sequence type (ST) 194, have been reported with high mortality of sudden death in pigs from China, Canada and the USA (Chen et al., 2020; Costa & Lage, 2020).…”