Actinobacillus suisinfection of horses

Abstract

Nineteen isolates of Actinobacillus suis were recovered from horses during the period October 1978-December 1980. Animals varied in age from a full term foetus to 12 years. One isolate was obtained from the nose of an apparently healthy horse, the remainder were obtained from still-born foetuses (2), foals dying within a week of birth (5), older animals with respiratory (6) or genital infections (3) or abscesses in the jaw (1). One isolate was obtained from the lung of a 2-week-old foal which had shown diarrhoea. The bacteriological characteristics of the isolates and the pathological lesions present in eight cases are described. The organism has a wide geographical distribution in New Zealand, and in the northern part of the North Island appears to be more common than A. equuli.

PREVALENCE OF ORGANISMS DESCRIBED AS ACTINOBACILLUS SUIS OR HAEMOLYTIC ACTINOBACILLUS EQUULI IN THE ORAL CAVITY OF HORSES. COMPARATIVE INVESTIGATIONS OF STRAINS OBTAINED AND PORCINE STRAINS OF A. SUIS SENSU STRICTO

“…Organisms described as A . suis or hemolytic variants of A. equuli, but derived from other hosts, including horses (9,10,11,16,19,20,25,30) cattle and humans (33) are unlike the porcine strains in some phenotypical characters. The taxonomical position of these strains seems uncertain.…”

Reclassification of equine isolates previously reported as Actinobacillus equuli, variants of A. equuli, Actinobacillus suis or Bisgaard taxon 11 and proposal of A. equuli subsp. equuli subsp. nov. and A. equuli subsp. haemolyticus subsp. nov

“…Selection of strains (Table 1) was based on previous investigations Blackall et al, 1997Blackall et al, , 1998Carman & Hodges, 1982 ;Mra! z et al, 1968 ;Peel et al, 1991) and strains retained in our laboratory.…”

Actinobacillus suis and Actinobacillus equuli, emergent pathogens of septic embolic nephritis, a new challenge for the swine industry

“…Cases have been reported from United States (Cutlip et al 1972, Maddux et al 1987, Nelson et al 1996, Canada (MacDonald et al 1976, Miniats et al 1989, Sanford et al 1990, Odin and Helie 1993, Great Britain (Harbourne et al 1978), New Zealand (Carman andHodges 1982, Hill andJohnstone 1992), India (Sulochana et al 1985), Australia (Peel et al 1991, Wilson andMcOrist, 2000), Hungary and Croatia (Mauch and Bilkei 2004).…”

“…Actinobacillus suis or A. suis-like bacteria have been isolated sporadically from other species, such as a Canada goose with conjunctivitis (Maddux et al 1987), an alpaca with endocarditis, embolic suppurative nephritis, pulmonary abscesses and interphalangeal arthritis (Hill and Johnstone 1992), lungs from a cat after undergoing an ovariohysterectomy (Daignault et al 1999), neonatal calves with septicemia (DeBey et al 1996), a buffalo with multiple abscesses (Sulochana et al 1985), a colt with ocular and nasal purulent discharge (Harbourne et al 1978), horses with abscesses, respiratory and genital infections (Carman and Hodges 1982, Carr et al 1997, Jeannotte et al 2002, and foals with septicemia (Nelson et al 1996). Mice can be infected with A. suis and subsequently develop pneumonia and bacteremia comparable to that seen in pigs, suggesting that mice may be used as a model for studying infection in swine (Ojha et al 2007).…”

“…A. suis can colonize the vagina of healthy sows and may cause abortion in gilts (Mauch and Bilkei 2004). Actinobacillus suis, characterized by biochemical properties, has been associated with infection of horses (Kim et al 1976, Harbourne et al 1978, Carman and Hodges 1982, Jang et al 1987, and septicemia in foals (Nelson et al 1996).…”