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Classification of Brachyspira spp. isolated from Swedish dogs
C Fellström1, B Pettersson, U Zimmerman
1Department of Medicine and Surgery, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Uppsala. Claes.Fellstrom@kirmed.slu.se
Abstract:
Brachyspira spp. were isolated from 21 of 32 sampled dogs (66%) in a colony of Swedish beagle dogs with a history of diarrhea and from 3 of 17 Swedish pet dogs (17%) with diarrhea. All Swedish isolates were weakly beta-hemolytic and gave a negative indole reaction. Eighty-eight percent showed negative alpha-galactosidase and hippurate reactions, but a positive beta-glucosidase reaction. Two isolates were hippurate positive with a negative beta-glucosidase reaction. One additional German isolate diverged by showing a positive indole reaction in combination with a positive hippurate reaction. Sequencing of 16S rDNA indicated that the hippurate-positive isolates belonged to the species Brachyspira pilosicoli. Four representative isolates were examined using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and compared with six reference strains and five porcine isolates of Brachyspira spp. The canine isolates clustered together in the PFGE analysis. Necropsy examination of a culture-positive B. pilosicoli colony-raised beagle dog revealed macro- and microscopical lesions of colitis with numerous spiral-shaped bacteria in the lumens of the crypts, in goblet cells and within the colonic epithelium.
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