ABSCESSES ASSOCIATED WITH A BRUCELLA INOPINATA–LIKE BACTERIUM IN A BIG-EYED TREE FROG (LEPTOPELIS VERMICULATUS)

A 4-yr-old big-eyed tree frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus) was submitted with two pea-sized (4-mm diameter), firm, and painful masses on the right side of its back. The two abscess-like masses were surgically opened, and a whitish-yellow pasty content was removed. A Brucella inopinata–like bacterium wa...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoo and wildlife medicine 2012-09, Vol.43 (3), p.625-628
Main Authors: Fischer, Dominik, Lorenz, Nadja, Heuser, Wenke, Kämpfer, Peter, Scholz, Holger C, Lierz, Michael
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abscess - microbiology
Abscess - veterinary
Abscesses
Amphibians
Animals
Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use
Anura
Bacteria
big-eyed tree frog
BRIEF COMMUNICATIONS
Brucella
Brucella - classification
Brucella - isolation & purification
Brucella inopinata–like
brucellosis
Brucellosis - microbiology
Brucellosis - pathology
Brucellosis - veterinary
Fluoroquinolones - therapeutic use
Frogs
Humans
Infections
Leptopelis
Leptopelis vermiculatus
Ochrobactrum anthropi
Pathogens
Sequencing
Zoos
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:A 4-yr-old big-eyed tree frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus) was submitted with two pea-sized (4-mm diameter), firm, and painful masses on the right side of its back. The two abscess-like masses were surgically opened, and a whitish-yellow pasty content was removed. A Brucella inopinata–like bacterium was obtained in pure culture and was resistant against ampicillin and tylosin but sensitive to the 8 other antibiotics tested. The organism was identified by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (acc. no. HE608873) and recA (acc. no. HE608874) genes after preliminary misidentification as Ochrobactrum anthropi when using a commercial identification system. To the authors' knowledge, a B. inopinata–like bacterium has not been reported previously in amphibians. The organism is a potential human pathogen and may present a risk for people handling amphibians.
ISSN:1042-7260
1937-2825
DOI:10.1638/2011-0005R2.1