Prevalence and analysis of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in chinchillas

Abstract

BackgroundChinchillas (Chinchilla laniger) are popular as pets and are often used as laboratory animals for various studies. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a major infectious agent that causes otitis media, pneumonia, septicaemia enteritis, and sudden death in chinchillas. This bacterium is also a leading cause of nosocomial infections in humans. To prevent propagation of P. aeruginosa infection among humans and animals, detailed characteristics of the isolates, including antibiotic susceptibility and genetic features, are needed. In this study, we surveyed P. aeruginosa distribution in chinchillas bred as pets or laboratory animals. We also characterized the isolates from these chinchillas by testing for antibiotic susceptibility and by gene analysis.ResultsP. aeruginosa was isolated from 41.8% of the 67 chinchillas included in the study. Slide agglutination and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis discriminated 5 serotypes and 7 unique patterns, respectively. For the antibiotic susceptibility test, 40.9% of isolates were susceptible to gentamicin, 77.3% to ciprofloxacin, 77.3% to imipenem, and 72.7% to ceftazidime. DNA analyses confirmed that none of the isolates contained the gene encoding extended-spectrum β-lactamases; however, 2 of the total 23 isolates were found to have a gene similar to the pilL gene that has been identified in the pathogenicity island of a clinical isolate of P. aeruginosa.ConclusionsP. aeruginosa is widely spread in chinchillas, including strains with reduced susceptibility to the antibiotics and highly virulent strains. The periodic monitoring should be performed to help prevent the propagation of this pathogen and reduce the risk of infection from chinchillas to humans.

Therapeutic effect of the YH6 phage in a murine hemorrhagic pneumonia model

“…P. aeruginosa causes acute, life-threatening or chronic infections in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) or severe burns, and in patients who are immunosuppressed [8]. In animals, P. aeruginosa causes endometritis in horses [21], mastitis in cows and other ruminant animals [29], otitis media and otitis interna in chinchillas [18]. P. aeruginosa is also the major cause of hemorrhagic pneumonia in farmed mink [31], which results in high mortality and morbidity [20,35,38].…”

Biology and Diseases of Chinchillas

“…P. aeruginosa has been cultured from clinically normal animals (Hirakawa et al, 2010). P. aeruginosa has been cultured from clinically normal animals (Hirakawa et al, 2010).…”

“…Infection is acquired from contaminated water sources (Hirakawa et al, 2010;Doerning et al, 1993;Lusis and Soltys, 1971). Infection is acquired from contaminated water sources (Hirakawa et al, 2010;Doerning et al, 1993;Lusis and Soltys, 1971).…”

“…Swabs of the oral cavity, feces, and water bottles may also be taken for culture (Hirakawa et al, 2010). Swabs of the oral cavity, feces, and water bottles may also be taken for culture (Hirakawa et al, 2010).…”

Organization of the innervation of the oesophagus and stomach in chinchilla (Chinchilla laniger, Molina)

“…Morphological studies on the topography of the myenteric and submucosal plexuses were carried out on different species of amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, and revealed significant variability in these structures depending on the systemic position of the animal [1,3,[6][7][8]. Chinchilla is a popular species often used as laboratory animal for various studies [9,10]. Nevertheless, most studies concern the pelage, farming conditions, and sense organs, while there is little data on chinchilla's autonomic nervous system.…”