Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a facultative, non-spore-forming, non-acid-fast, small, Gram-positive bacillus. The organism was first established as a human pathogen late in the nineteenth century. Three forms of human disease have been recognised since then. These include a localised cutaneous lesion form, erysipeloid, a generalised cutaneous form and a septicaemic form often associated with endocarditis. The organism is ubiquitous and able to persist for a long period of time in the environment, including marine locations. It is a pathogen or a commensal in a wide variety of wild and domestic animals, birds and fish. Swine erysipelas caused by E. rhusiopathiae is the disease of greatest prevalence and economic importance. Diseases in other animals include erysipelas of farmed turkeys, chickens, ducks and emus, and polyarthritis in sheep and lambs. Infection due to E. rhusiopathiae in humans is occupationally related, principally occurring as a result of contact with contaminated animals, their products or wastes, or soil. Erysipeloid is the most common form of infections in humans. While it has been suggested that the incidence of human infection could be declining due to technological advances in animal industries, infection still occurs in specific environments. Additionally, infection by the organism is possibly under-diagnosed due to the resemblance it bears to other infections, and problems encountered in isolation and identification. Various virulence factors have been suggested as being involved in the pathogenicity of E. rhusiopathiae. The presence of a hyaluronidase and neuraminidase has been recognised, and it was shown that neuraminidase plays a significant role in bacterial attachment and subsequent invasion into host cells. The role of hyaluronidase in the disease process is controversial. The presence of a heat labile capsule has been reported as important in virulence. Control of animal disease by sound husbandry, herd management, good sanitation and immunization procedures is recommended.     

Enzymatic profiles of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and Erysipelothrix tonsillae

The enzymatic activities of 39 strains of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae and 34 of E tonsillae were determined with the API ZYM system. The profiles of these two species were very similar, differing solely in N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase activity. Whereas 90 per cent of strains of E rhusiopathiae exhibited strong activity with N-acetyl-beta-glucosaminidase, positive reactions were observed for this enzyme in only 24 per cent of strains of E tonsillae. These results support previous DNA-DNA hybridisation studies and suggest that E tonsillae is a new species of the genus Erysipelothrix.     

Neuraminidase production by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

In order to characterise neuraminidase activity by Erysipelothrix, 85 isolates of Erysipelothrix spp. from a variety of sources including human clinical, marine and terrestrial animals, and the environment were investigated for neuraminidase production. Neuraminidase activity was detected by a peanut lectin haemagglutination method. The effects of media, incubation conditions and pH on the production and activity of neuraminidase were also investigated. Enzyme activity was detected only in the supernatants of the isolates of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae which had been incubated in cooked meat broth and Todd Hewitt broth supplemented with horse serum after 16 and 36 h incubation at 37 degrees C. The maximum titres were reached at 40 h in cooked meat broth and 56 h in Todd Hewitt broth supplemented with horse serum. All 58 isolates and the type strain (ATCC 19414) of E. rhusiopathiae produced detectable neuraminidase activity with titres between 10 and 320. The optimal pH for the enzyme activity varied among the isolates with a pH between 6.0 and 7.0 covering the highest enzyme activity of the most. There was no statistically significant difference in the level of neuraminidase activity between isolates from different sources (p > 0.05). Neuraminidase activity was not detected in the non-pathogenic Erysipelothrix spp. such as E. tonsillarum. Neuraminidase was detected only in E. rhusiopathiae suggesting its possible role as a virulence factor. Enzyme production and activity were medium and pH dependent. The peanut lectin haemagglutination assay is a simple, rapid and sensitive method and is particularly useful for the analysis of multiple samples.     

种鸭源猪丹毒丝菌分离及血清学调查

从发生生产性能异常的2个种鸭群中分离到2株革兰阳性丝状菌,经16S rRNA基因序列分析鉴定为猪丹毒丝菌。采用多重PCR对分离株编码表面保护性抗原(spa)基因进行扩增,分别获得大小约1 000 bp和900 bp的片段,判定为spaC型和spaB型。毒力检测结果表明,2个分离株对小鼠的半数致死量(LD50)分别为103CFU/0.2 mL和≤102CFU/0.2 mL。药敏试验结果表明,分离株对青霉素类和大部分头孢菌素类抗生素敏感,对氨基糖苷类等药物具有明显的抗性。为进一步了解猪丹毒丝菌对鸭群的感染情况,本研究采用生长凝集试验对来源于3个不同鸭场的种鸭群进行血清学调查,结果,抗丹毒丝菌抗体阳性率(抗体效价≥16)分别为82%、35%和20%,表明鸭群中广泛存在猪丹毒丝菌感染。     

Two new serotypes of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae.

Among a group of 16 argentine strains of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae 2 new serotypes have been found. Typing was performed by means of the agar gel diffusion test. Extracts produced by autoclaving the organisms for 1 hour at 120 degrees C were used as antigen. Antisera against all known types were produced in rabbits. Extracts produced from the two strains in question (Ba?o 36 and Ba?o 107) did not react with any of the knwon type antisera. Antisera against the two strains did not react with extracts of any of the known type strains, but only with extract of their homologous strains. The two new types were designated Type 21 (Ba?o 36) and Type 22 (Ba?o 107).     

Safety of a live attenuated Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae vaccine for swine

The porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is an enveloped RNA virus. Virions of PRRSV contain six membrane proteins: the major proteins GP5 and M and the minor proteins GP2, GP3, GP4, and E. The GP5 is the major envelope proteins, which was involved in the formation and infectivity of PRRSV by coaction with other membrane proteins. Here, to determine the function of alone GP5 envelope protein in viral entry, we investigated the formation and infectivity of GP5-pseudotyped virus particles. By co-transfection of GP5 expression plasmids with murine leukemia virus (MuLV) based retroviral vectors (pHIT60, encoding MuLV Gag-Pol; pHIT111, encoding an MuLV genome with a β-galactosidase reporter gene) into 293 T cells and analysis of the culture medium using ultracentrifugation, Western blot, and infection assay. We observed that the GP5 envelope protein was incorporated into the MuLV retroviral vectors to generate an pseudotyped murine leukemia virus, which was infectious to PAM and Mack-145 target cells and displayed the same host range with wild-type PRRSV. The infection of the pseudotyped virus on PAM target cells is effectively neutralized by polyclonal antibodies specific for PRRSV or GP5. The results suggested that the GP5 protein may play a key role in the viral entry by interacting with the host cell receptor. The GP5-pseudotyped virus will be useful in the identification of the cellular receptor binding with GP5 protein.     

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae septicemia in a Laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae).

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae (E. rhusiopathiae) septicemia was demonstrated in a captive Laughing kookaburra (Dacelo novaeguineae). The bird died after a 2-week period of weakness and weight loss. At necropsy, the bird was emaciated and had reddened and wet lungs. Microscopic lesions were limited to hepatic and pulmonary congestion with focal thrombosis. Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated by routine bacterial culture from several organs. Further characterization of the isolate by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis indicated that the isolate has a new genotype pattern 3A(III), which is 91.7% homologous to an E. rhusiopathiae that was isolated from a pig in 2001 and 88% homologous to an isolate recovered in 2000 from a turkey with septicemia. This is the first report of E. rhusiopathiae-induced septicemia in a kookaburra.     

Endocarditis in two dogs caused by Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae was isolated from the blood and aortic semilunar valves of two dogs. The clinical, laboratory and patho-anatomical findings were similar to those found in endocarditis caused by other bacteria. The pathogenicity of Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is discussed.     

A multiplex polymerase chain reaction for discriminating Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae from Erysipelothrix tonsillarum.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is the causative agent of swine erysipelas, and it causes great economic losses in Japan and worldwide. In meat inspection, it is very important to distinguish E. rhusiopathiae from other bacteria showing similar clinical signs of disease or similar bacterial characteristics. To distinguish E. rhusiopathiae from Erysipelothrix tonsillarum, 2 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) systems were combined. The primer sets ERY-1F and ERY-2R were designed to amplify 2210 base pairs (bp) of nucleotide sequence specific for E. rhusiopathiae chromosomal DNA, and the primer sets MO101 and ERS-1R were designed to amplify 719 bp of nucleotide sequence including a highly conserved region of genus Erysipelothrix 16S rRNA. Two fragments were amplified when E. rhusiopathiae was used as the PCR template using the primer sets, whereas a single fragment was amplified when E. tonsillarum was used as the template. No fragments were amplified when nucleic acid from other bacteria that cause clinical signs similar to swine erysipelas were used as the template. Moreover, 5 specimens collected from postinspected swine carcasses were diagnosed as E. rhusiopathiae using the PCR described in this study, in agreement with results of microbiological tests for the genus Erysipelothrix, whereas negative samples were negative both in conventional bacterial tests and by PCR. The detection limit of multiplex PCR ranged from 10(2) to 10(4) colony forming units per reaction tube for positive samples. These results suggest that this method is useful for screening of swine erysipelas in meat inspection centers.