Corynebacteria of the diphtheriae Species Complex in Companion Animals: Clinical and Microbiological Characterization of 64 Cases from France

Corynebacteria of the species complex (CdSC) can cause diphtheria in humans and have been reported from companion animals. We aimed to describe animal infection cases caused by CdSC isolates. A total of 18,308 animals (dogs, cats, horses, and small mammals) with rhinitis, dermatitis, nonhealing woun...

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Published in:Microbiology spectrum 2023-06, Vol.11 (3), p.e0000623-e0000623
Main Authors: Museux, Kristina, Arcari, Gabriele, Rodrigo, Guido, Hennart, Melanie, Badell, Edgar, Toubiana, Julie, Brisse, Sylvain
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bacteriology
C. diphtheriae
C. rouxii
C. ulcerans
Corynebacterium
diphtheria
emerging zoonosis
Research Article
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Summary:Corynebacteria of the species complex (CdSC) can cause diphtheria in humans and have been reported from companion animals. We aimed to describe animal infection cases caused by CdSC isolates. A total of 18,308 animals (dogs, cats, horses, and small mammals) with rhinitis, dermatitis, nonhealing wounds, and otitis were sampled in metropolitan France (August 2019 to August 2021). Data on symptoms, age, breed, and the administrative region of origin were collected. Cultured bacteria were analyzed for gene presence, production of the diphtheria toxin, and antimicrobial susceptibility and were genotyped by multilocus sequence typing. Corynebacterium ulcerans was identified in 51 cases, 24 of which were toxigenic. Rhinitis was the most frequent presentation (18/51). Eleven cases (6 cats, 4 dogs, and 1 rat) were monoinfections. Large-breed dogs, especially German shepherds (9 of 28 dogs;  
ISSN:2165-0497
2165-0497
DOI:10.1128/spectrum.00006-23