First report of Enterobacter hormaechei with respiratory disease in calves

Enterobacter hormaechei is commonly considered a causative pathogen for nosocomial infections and it does not usually cause diseases in animals. However, researchers have recently dissociated the pathogenic Enterobacter hormaechei from foxes and piglets. Here, the Enterobacter hormaechei was first found to be associated with respiratory disease in unweaned calves in China.

A 2-month-old calf was severely sick and diagnosed with respiratory infection by a rural veterinarian, and it died 5 days after treatment with penicillin G. The lung sample was then run through histopathological analysis and pathogen isolation. The sequence analysis and biochemical tests results showed the isolated bacterium strain to be Enterobacter hormaechei, and drug sensitivity tests showed resistance to all β-lactam antimicrobials and sensitivity to quinolones. Thickened alveoli septum, inflammatory cell infiltration, and erythrocyte diapedesis around the pulmonary alveoli septum were visible in lung histopathological sections. One week later, at the same farm, another calf showed similar clinical signs, and the Enterobacter hormaechei strain was isolated from its nasal discharge; after a week of treatment with enrofloxacin, as suggested by the results of drug sensitivity tests, this calf fully recovered.

To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case report of calves with respiratory disease that was associated with E. hormaechei, and multi-drug resistance was observed in isolates.