Multispecies Epidemiologic Surveillance Study after an Outbreak of Yersiniosis at an African Green Monkey Research Facility

After an outbreak of Yersinia enterocolitica at a NHP research facility, we performed a multispecies investigation of the prevalence of Yersinia spp. in various mammals that resided or foraged on the grounds of the facility, to better understand the epizootiology of yersiniosis. Blood samples and fe...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Comparative medicine 2015-12, Vol.65 (6), p.526-531
Main Authors: Soto, Esteban, Loftis, Amanda, Boruta, Daniel, Rostad, Sara, Beierschmitt, Amy, McCoy, Matthew, Francis, Stewart, Berezowski, John, Illanes, Oscar, Recinos, Diego, Arauz, Maziel, Spencer, Dustine, Fraites, Trellor, Palmour, Roberta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Academies and Institutes
Animals
Cats
Cercopithecus aethiops
Disease Outbreaks
Dogs
Female
Herpestidae
Male
Mice
Nonhuman Primate Models
Rats
Seroepidemiologic Studies
Yersinia enterocolitica - isolation & purification
Yersinia Infections - epidemiology
Yersinia Infections - microbiology
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:After an outbreak of Yersinia enterocolitica at a NHP research facility, we performed a multispecies investigation of the prevalence of Yersinia spp. in various mammals that resided or foraged on the grounds of the facility, to better understand the epizootiology of yersiniosis. Blood samples and fecal and rectal swabs were obtained from 105 captive African green monkeys (AGM), 12 feral cats, 2 dogs, 20 mice, 12 rats, and 3 mongooses. Total DNA extracted from swab suspensions served as template for the detection of Y. enterocolitica DNA by real-time PCR. Neither Y. enterocolitica organisms nor their DNA were detected from any of these samples. However, Western blotting revealed the presence of Yersinia antibodies in plasma. The AGM samples revealed a seroprevalence of 91% for Yersinia spp. and of 61% for Y. enterocolitica specifically. The AGM that were housed in cages where at least one fatality occurred during the outbreak (clinical group) had similar seroprevalence to that of AGM housed in unaffected cages (nonclinical group). However, the nonclinical group was older than the clinical group. In addition, 25%, 100%, 33%, 10%, and 10% of the sampled local cats, dogs, mongooses, rats, and mice, respectively, were seropositive. The high seroprevalence after this outbreak suggests that Y. enterocolitica was transmitted effectively through the captive AGM population and that age was an important risk factor for disease. Knowledge regarding local environmental sources of Y. enterocolitica and the possible role of wildlife in the maintenance of yersiniosis is necessary to prevent and manage this disease.
ISSN:1532-0820