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A 25-year retrospective study of Chlamydia psittaci in association with equine reproductive loss in Australia.
- Source :
-
Journal of medical microbiology [J Med Microbiol] 2021 Feb; Vol. 70 (2). - Publication Year :
- 2021
-
Abstract
- Introduction. Chlamydia psittaci is primarily a pathogen of birds but can also cause disease in other species. Equine reproductive loss caused by C. psittaci has recently been identified in Australia where cases of human disease were also reported in individuals exposed to foetal membranes from an ill neonatal foal in New South Wales. Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The prevalence of C. psittaci in association with equine reproductive over time and in different regions of Australia is not known. Aim. This study was conducted to detect C. psittaci in equine abortion cases in Australia using archived samples spanning 25 years. Methodology. We tested for C. psittaci in 600 equine abortion cases reported in Australia between 1994 to 2019 using a Chlamydiaceae real-time quantitative PCR assay targeting the 16S rRNA gene followed by high-resolution melt curve analysis. Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis was performed on positive samples. Results. The overall prevalence of C. psittaci in material from equine abortion cases was 6.5 %. C. psittaci -positive cases were detected in most years that were represented in this study and occurred in Victoria (prevalence of 7.6 %), New South Wales (prevalence of 3.9 %) and South Australia (prevalence of 15.4 %). Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis showed that the C. psittaci detected in the equine abortion cases clustered with the parrot-associated 6BC clade (genotype A/ST24), indicating that infection of horses may be due to spillover from native Australian parrots. Conclusion. This work suggests that C. psittaci has been a significant agent of equine abortion in Australia for several decades and underscores the importance of taking appropriate protective measures to avoid infection when handling equine aborted material.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins genetics
Bird Diseases microbiology
Chlamydophila psittaci genetics
Chlamydophila psittaci isolation & purification
Female
Horse Diseases microbiology
Horses
Infection Control
New South Wales epidemiology
Parrots microbiology
Phylogeny
Pregnancy
Psittacosis epidemiology
RNA, Ribosomal, 16S genetics
Retrospective Studies
Abortion, Septic microbiology
Bird Diseases transmission
Chlamydophila psittaci classification
Horse Diseases epidemiology
Psittacosis veterinary
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1473-5644
- Volume :
- 70
- Issue :
- 2
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of medical microbiology
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 33258756
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1099/jmm.0.001284