Bacteria Presentations/ Disease Causing Bacteria

Black Leg - Clostridium chauvei

Features: Often fatal disease, causes muscle necrosis, not zoonotic

Transmission: Ingested spores in soil

Bacterium: Anaerobic, gram positive bacterium that forms spores.

Prevention/Control: Vaccines, good colostrum, keep out of excavation areas/flooded pastures

Tx: Not usually successful- antibiotics IM, removal of damaged muscle

American Foulbrood (paenibacillus larvae)

Features: Highly contagious/fatal, affects honeybee larvae, no cure

Transmission: Bacterial Spores carried by worker bees, equipment,

Bacterium: Gram positive, facultative anaerobe rod-shaped bacterium that forms spores

Prevention/Control: Regular hive inspections, don’t get used equipment, can treat with Tylosin or Lincomycin

Mycoplasma Ovipneumoniae

Features: Affects sheep- wild and domestic - Multiple strains that affect different species. CS: Coughing, nasal discharge fever, inappetence

Transmission: Respiratory droplets/ nasal secretions, direct /close proximity

Bacterium: lacks cell wall= neither g - or g +

Prevention/Control: Preventing contact between wild/domestic sheep, no vaccine,

TX: broad spectrum antibiotics

Pasteurella Multocida- Fowl Cholera

Features: Affects poultry, CS: respiratory signs, fever, depression anorexia

high mortality, ZOONOTIC through bites/scratches

Transmission: Direct contact, contaminated water, fomites (humans, rodents, flies) migratory waterfowl are a natural reservoir

Bacterium: Gram negative coccobacillus

Prevention: Good biosecurity, rodent control, vaccination, housing birds indoors during peak migration seasons

Tx: Antibiotics- suppresses clinical signs - infections often return when treatment stops

Aeromonas salmonicida (Salmon Furunculosis)

Features: Affects majority of salmon, trout, charr

CS: tissue necrosis on dorsal muscles- boils on skin and muscle

Transmission: Direct contact, contaminated water, feces

Bacterium: gram negative, rod shaped

Prevention : Good water quality management, vaccination

Tx: Antibiotics through pellet feed SID for 10 days

What are the four bacteria pathogens to know for dogs

1. Kennel cough (bordetella bronchiseptica)

2. Leptospirosis

3. Lyme disease

4. Salmonella

3 important pathogenic bacteria to know in horses?

1. Strangles

2. Thrush

3. Tetanus

2 Common Bacteria pathogens in cats:

1. Mycoplasma species

• hemotropic

• Nonhemotropic

2. Chlamydia species

Bordetella bronchiseptica

Features: Cough/hacking

Bacterium: G neg coccobacilli

Tranmission: Nasal contact or aerosolized secretions

Prevention: Vaccine

Leptospirosis

Features: Acute kidney failure- elevated BUN and creatinine, decreased USG, liver enzymes elevated (ALP/ALT)

Bacterium: g neg spirochete

Transmission: contact with contaminated water

Prevention: vaccine, doxycycline

Diagnosis: PCR, SNAP, PCR

Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi)

CS: lethargy, enlarged lymph nodes, fever, lameness

Bacterium: g neg spirochete- Zoonotic

Transmission: Ixodid tick bites- ,must be attached for over 24 hours

Prevention: vaccine or tick preventatives

TX: doxycycline

Diagnosis: PCR, C6 antibody test

Salmonella enterica

Bacterium: g neg bacillus (rod) facultative anaerobe Zoonotic

Transmission: Contaminated food/water- fecal oral route

Prevention: Educating reptile owners, bleach kennels, cooking food

Diagnosis: Difficult due to minimal clinical signs, culture the bacteria from the feces

Strangles- streptococcus equi

Features: Highly contagious, abscesses of mandibular and retropharyngeal lymph nodes- Purpura Hemorrhagica can develop after recovery from strangles

Bacterium: g positive, normal flora of horses but can lead to opportunistic infections

Transmission: infected horses, carrier horses, contaminated water troughs, stalls etc

CS: Fever, dysphagia, purulent nasal discharge, abscessed lymph nodes, guttural pouch disease

Prevention: Vaccine- not core, can cause purpura hemorrhagica

Diagnosis: C and S pus from the abscessed lymph node or PCR test

TX:

• NSAID for pain and inflammation

• lance abscesses and drain

• Antibiotics controversial- reserved for severe cases

• Quarantine

Thrush- fusobacterium necrophorum

Features: affects central and lateral sulci of frog

Bacterium: gram neg anaerobic bacteria

CS: Smelly hoof, black exudate in area of frog, lameness

Tx: remove necrotic tissue, epsom salt/ topical antiseptic iodine, copper sulfate bath, dry stall/ paddock

Prevention: Maintaining dry conditions, regular hoof care

Tetanus (Clostridium tetani)

Bacterium: Anaerobic gram pos spore forming rod

Transmission: wound on limb infected with bacterium from manure or soil

CS: Muscle spasms, lockjaw, stiff limbs, third eyelid prolapse

Diagnosis: Often done by clinical signs- other diagnostic tests are difficult to perform

TX: Antibiotics- metronidazole, sedation to help control muscle spasms, antitoxic

Prevention: Vaccination- core vaccine ( often in comno vaccines)

Mycoplasma in general

Bacterium: Acid fast gram neg facultative anaerobic gram neg (will not take up gram stain), difficult to culture

CS: URTI infections (upper resp) conjunctivitis or hemolytic anemia in cats, UTIs in dogs, respiratory infections, joint infections and mastitis in cattle

Diagnosis: ELISA or PCR

Hemotropic mycoplasma in cats (mycoplasma hemofelis)

Features: Feline infectious anemia, target RBCs (hemotropic)

Transmission: Cat fights, insect vectors

Diagnosis: Look for mycoplasma on RBCs (DONT USE EDTA LAVENDER TUBES) hard to find, may have to look several times

CS: male mm’s, lethargy, tachypnea if severe

TX: tetracyclines (doxycyclines)

Nonhemotropic Mycoplasmas in cats

Features: Upper respiratory tract infections, (along with other viral diseases like feline herpes virus, chlamydia, calicivirus)

CN: Conjunctivitis, UTIs, coughing, nasal discharge, sneezing

Diagnosis: PCR best, C and S difficult due to being normal flora of cats

TX: Tetracyclines: doxycycline,ophthalmological antibiotics may be required if ocular clinical signs

Chlamydia felis

Bacterium: gram neg obligate intracellular ( will not grown on standard culture media, requires animal cells to grow)

CS: Acute conjunctivitis, chemosis, nasal discharge, sneezing, fever, lethargy

Transmission: Ocular secretions and aerosolized methods

Diagnosis: Culture from conjunctival/nasal swabs

TX: systemic antibiotics- tetracyclines like doxycycline

Prevention:vaccines- vaccines for URT like feline herpes virus may also include chlamydia in the vaccine combo