Occurrence of Chlamydiaceae, Mycoplasma Conjunctivae, and Pestiviruses in Alpine Chamois (Rupicapra r. Rupicapra) of Grisons, Switzerland

Abstract

Abstract. Because interactions between livestock and chamois occur on Alpine pastures, transmission of infectious diseases is considered possible. Thus, the occurrence of Chlamydiaceae, Mycoplasma conjunctivae, and pestiviruses in Alpine chamois (Rupicapra r. rupicapra) of the Surselva region (eastern Swiss Alps) was investigated. In total, 71 sera, 158 eye swabs, 135 tissue samples, and 23 fecal samples from 85 chamois were analyzed. The sera were tested by 2 enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits specific for Chlamydophila abortus. Eye swabs, tissue, and fecal samples were examined by a Chlamydiaceae-specific realtime polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Positive cases were further investigated by microarray method. One serum sample (1.4%) was positive in 1 of the ELISAs. Eye swabs of 3 chamois (3.8%) were positive for Chlamydiaceae. The microarray method revealed the presence of Chlamydophila abortus, C. pecorum, and C. pneumoniae. All tissue and fecal samples were negative. With real-time PCR, 3.9% of the chamois tested positive for Mycoplasma conjunctivae. One chamois had a simultaneous infection with M. conjunctivae and 2 chlamydial species (C. abortus, C. pecorum). Skin and tongue tissue samples of 35 chamois were negative for pestivirus antigen by immunohistochemistry. It was concluded that in contrast to the findings in Pyrenean chamois (Capra p. pyrenaica) of Spain, the occurrence of Chlamydiaceae in Alpine chamois of the Surselva region is low, and the transmission between domestic and wild Caprinae seems not to be frequent. Comparably, persistent pestiviral infections do not seem to be common in chamois of the Surselva region.

Novel Sequence Types of Chlamydia pecorum Infect Free-Ranging Alpine Ibex (Capra ibex) and Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) in Switzerland

“…Polkinghorne et al (2009) identified chlamydial species colonizing the conjunctiva of otherwise healthy animals but could not link the identification to subsequent disease onset. In the animals in our current study, chamois 515 L was the only animal with evident pathology that was shedding very low levels of C. pecorum but had a diagnosed coinfection with Mycoplasma conjunctivae (Holzwarth et al 2011b). Subsequently, M. conjunctivae was also associated with infectious keratoconjunctivitis in chamois (Mavrot et al 2012).…”

“…The study centered on the canton of Grisons, Switzerland, where cograzing of wildlife and domesticated ruminants is common and where C. pecorum was identified in ibex (Holzwarth et al 2011a), chamois (Holzwarth et al 2011b), and red deer (Regenscheit et al 2012). Molecular typing of these C. pecorum-positive samples from both of these groups from the sympatric populations was not performed at the time and will be necessary to evaluate whether any ''spill-over'' or ''spill-back'' has occurred between the populations.…”

“…The initial collection (Table 1) targeted in this study consisted of a previously screened cohort of ocular swabs collected from six hunted ibex (n57; both eyes from one animal; Holzwarth et al 2011a) and a chamois (n51; Holzwarth et al 2011b) and a fecal sample from a hunted red deer (Regenscheit et al 2012). The chamois had corneal lesions and blindness; the other animals had no clinical signs of disease.…”

Multilocus Sequence Analysis Provides Insights into Molecular Epidemiology of Chlamydia pecorum Infections in Australian Sheep, Cattle, and Koalas

“…A better understanding of the origin of C. pecorum in koalas will require a larger cohort of livestock and koala samples from the same geographical area in Australia. A broader assessment of the strains reported in other Australian marsupials (54) and worldwide domesticated and wild ungulates (55,56) would contribute to our understanding of the genetic diversity of C. pecorum and the origins of these infections. Such an analysis should also include a larger number of samples within each population to build a better picture of the intrapopulation C. pecorum genetic structures, thus improving our understanding of the epidemiology of these infections.…”

Chlamydia pecorum: successful pathogen of koalas or Australian livestock?

“…The spectrum of C. pecorum infections in livestock hosts ranges from subclinical to acute disease manifestations such as polyarthritis, sporadic bovine encephalomyelitis, pneumonia and conjunctivitis, with (asymptomatic) gastrointestinal shedding as the common feature 5 . C. pecorum infections in free-range ruminants such as Alpine ibex and chamois from Europe have also been reported 6,7 .…”