Erysipelas in Quail and Suspected Erysipeloid in Processing Plant Employees

Abstract

Erysipelas was diagnosed in two commercial breeder flocks of Coturnix quail and was characterized clinically by sudden mortality. At necropsy, lesions comprised generalized congestion, hemorrhages in the thigh and breast muscles, swelling of liver, spleen, and kidney, and dark red edematous lungs. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was cultured from visceral organs of affected birds. Medication with penicillin in the drinking water controlled the mortality. A possible source of infection was fish raised on the premises. Seven people at the quail processing plant developed localized inflammation of the fingers, which responded when antibiotic therapy for erysipeloid was initiated.

Outbreak of Mortality in Psittacine Birds in a Mixed-Species Aviary Associated With Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae Infection

“…Thrombosis, hemorrhage, necrosis, and inflammation observed in several tissues in the lorikeet with previous reports in several bird species, although the extensive splenic and proventricular damage described in such reports was not noted in this case. 13,20,22,31 E. rhusiopathiae experimentally infected chickens showed similar pathological findings to those of the lorikeet in this study, including congestion, organomegaly (liver, spleen, and kidney), and vascular damage in several organs (intravascular fibrin thrombi), highly suggestive of disseminated intravascular coagulation and shock. 28 Routes of transmission for E. rhusiopathiae are believed to include direct horizontal transmission by asymptomatic carriers such as pigs, turkeys, or contaminated fish food, as well as indirect horizontal transmission by the means of fomites such as contaminated soil or mechanical vectors such as arthropods.…”

“…28 Routes of transmission for E. rhusiopathiae are believed to include direct horizontal transmission by asymptomatic carriers such as pigs, turkeys, or contaminated fish food, as well as indirect horizontal transmission by the means of fomites such as contaminated soil or mechanical vectors such as arthropods. 6,20 Genotyping homologous studies between strains coming from different outbreaks support the crossinfectivity between species. 22,23 The source of infection in the parrots in this report remains undetermined.…”

“…20 Human infection is commonly related to occupational exposure to sick or infected animals (anthropozoonosis) and frequently presents as an acute cellulitis at the portal of entry and uncommonly as a systemic infection typically involving the endocardium (subacute endocarditis) or joints. 7,20 In birds, E. rhusiopathiae infection has been described in poultry, turkeys, ducklings, and a variety of captive and free-ranging avian species including a laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae), ring-necked pheasants (Phasianus colchicus), quails (Coturnix spp. and C. coturnix japonica), malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), emus (Dromaius novohollandiae), a little blue penguin (Eudyptula minor), little swifts (Apus affinis), chukars (Alectoris chukar), white Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domestica), guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), and a Hawaiian crow (Corvus hawaiiensis).…”

Clinical Management of Avian Renal Disease

“…Many bacteria have been reported to cause nephritis in birds, including Enterobacteriaceae, Pasteurella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Streptococcus spp., Staphylococcus spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae, and chlamydial organisms. 43,45 Mycobacterium spp. have also been rarely reported in the avian kidney.…”

Environmental Aspects of Zoonotic Diseases

“…Ferianc et al (2002) looked at E. coli isolates from the Danube and Moravia rivers (Slovakia) and compared these isolates to clinical ones (collected from urinary track disease). Pigs are most commonly affected, but cases have been reported in other animals such as birds (mainly in turkeys and ducks), sheep, fish, and reptiles (Brooke and Riley, 1999;Mutalib et al, 1993;Mutalib et al 1995;Anonymous, 1946). The authors hinted at a possible health risk for bathers from direct contact with untreated river water.…”