High mortality in foals associated with Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica Abortusequi infection in Italy

Abstract

Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Abortusequi is frequently reported as a cause of abortion in mares and neonatal septicemia and polyarthritis in Asian and African countries, but only sporadically in Europe and the United States. We report an outbreak of S. Abortusequi in foals in Italy, characterized by high mortality. In a herd of Murgese horses, 10 of 34 newborns died at birth and a further 7 died, after developing severe clinical signs, during the first 10 d of life. Tissue specimens from different organs of 2 dead foals, synovial fluids from 4 sick foals, and vaginal and rectal swabs from their dams were cultured. A total of 16 isolates, all as pure cultures, were obtained and identified as Salmonella. The isolates exhibited the same antimicrobial resistance pattern and the same sequence type, ST251, a type that has been associated with S. Abortusequi. Six of 16 isolates were serotyped and found to be S. Abortusequi 4,12:-:e,n,x. Equine practitioners should be aware of S. Abortusequi infection as a cause of neonatal mortality in foals.

Salmonellaand salmonellosis in horses: an overview

“…This serovar is commonly reported in parts of Asia and Africa, but is only sporadically reported in Europe, South America and the USA. 6 S Abortusequi has not been reported from horses in Great Britain since 1989. Serum agglutination tests (SAT) for S Abortusequi are required to demonstrate freedom from disease for horses to be exported to some countries.…”

The ADP-Ribosylating Toxins of Salmonella

“…The primary observation that the spv locus plays an important role in the severity of disease stems from the fact that a number of spv -encoding serovars cause systemic disease in their respective hosts. With the exception of serovars Bovismorbificans, Enteritidis, and Typhimurium, most of the serovars that encode spv genes are host adapted (i.e., Choleraesuis to pigs [66], Dublin to cows [11], Abortusequi to horses and donkeys [67], and Abortusovis to sheep and goats [68]), or host restricted (i.e., Gallinarum to chickens [10] and Paratyphi C and Sendai to humans [53]). In general, infections with these serovars either in the hosts which they have adapted to, or in humans, often results in a more severe infection characterized by invasive disease [5].…”

Developmental Results of a Vaccine against Salmonella-Induced Equine Abortion

“…A high mortality rate caused by Sal. abortus equi was recorded in Italy [ 5 ]. The abortions associated with viral and bacterial infections caused by the rhinovirus and the salmonella agents of equine abortions are most severe [ 6 ].…”