Abortion by Chlamydophila pecorum in mediterranean buffalo.

Aim: to describe the association of an infection by Chlamydophila pecorum and an abortion case in a mediterranean buffalo heifer at the 7th month of pregnancy. Materials and methods: the investigated abortion case occurred in late December 2008, in a buffalo heifer belonging to an herd affected with persistent reproductive disorders. The aborted fetus, sera and vaginal swabs from the aborted heifer, which were collected both at the time of abortion and one month later, were screened with either direct or indirect diagnostic tools to investigate the presence of viral (BHV-1, BHV-4, BVDV), bacterial (A. pyogenes, Campylobacter spp., C. burnetii, Listeria spp., Leptospira spp., Salmonella spp., Brucella spp. and E. coli) or parasitological agents (N. caninum) which commonly induce abortion in ruminants. The fetal tissue samples and heifer vaginal swabs were assayed by a Real Time-PCR specific for the Chlamydiaceae family using primers located in the 23S rRNA gene (Everett et al., 1998). Positive samples by the real-time PCR were further analysed for species identification by a PCR targeting the ompA gene as described by Denamur et al., (1991). The nucleotide sequences of amplicons (1060 bp in length) were determined and aligned with the prototype sequences of the nine Chlamydiaceae species. Results: Sera collected in paired from aborted buffalo were found positive by ELISA. Foetal samples (lungs, liver, spleen, abomasal content and kidneys) and vaginal swabs tested positive by Chlamydiaceae real-time PCR while tested negative for other infectious agents. Sequence analysis allowed identificating all ompA amplicons obtained as Chlamydophila pecorum. Conclusions: Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are affected by high rates of embryonic mortality and abortion related to infectious diseases and non-infectious factors. In previous studies (Greco et al., 2008) a mixed infection by both C. abortus and C. pecorum was dimostrated in buffalos affected with abortion hypothesizing that chlamydial agents play a role in the aetiology of abortion in buffalo. While the role of C. abortus as aetiological agent of abortion has been clearly established in ruminants and in pigs, it was not clear yet whether C. pecorum might cause abortion independently from C. abortus. The findings of the present study show a clear evidence for a role of C. pecorum in the aetiology of abortion in buffalo. Reference: 1- Danamur et al., (1991). J. Clin. Microbiol. 35, 1835-1841. Everett et al., (1999). J. Aim: to describe the association of an infection by Chlamydophila pecorum and an abortion case in a mediterranean buffalo heifer at the 7th month of pregnancy. Materials and methods: the investigated abortion case occurred in late December 2008, in a buffalo heifer belonging to an herd affected with persistent reproductive disorders. The aborted fetus, sera and vaginal swabs from the aborted heifer, which were collected both at the time of abortion and one month later, were screened with either direct or indirect diagnostic tools to investigate the presence of viral (BHV-1, BHV-4, BVDV), bacterial (A. pyogenes, Campylobacter spp., C. burnetii, Listeria spp., Leptospira spp., Salmonella spp., Brucella spp. and E. coli) or parasitological agents (N. caninum) which commonly induce abortion in ruminants. The fetal tissue samples and heifer vaginal swabs were assayed by a Real Time-PCR specific for the Chlamydiaceae family using primers located in the 23S rRNA gene (Everett et al., 1998). Positive samples by the real-time PCR were further analysed for species identification by a PCR targeting the ompA gene as described by Denamur et al., (1991). The nucleotide sequences of amplicons (1060 bp in length) were determined and aligned with the prototype sequences of the nine Chlamydiaceae species. Results: Sera collected in paired from aborted buffalo were found positive by ELISA. Foetal samples (lungs, liver, spleen, abomasal content and kidneys) and vaginal swabs tested positive by Chlamydiaceae real-time PCR while tested negative for other infectious agents. Sequence analysis allowed identificating all ompA amplicons obtained as Chlamydophila pecorum. Conclusions: Water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) are affected by high rates of embryonic mortality and abortion related to infectious diseases and non-infectious factors. In previous studies (Greco et al., 2008) a mixed infection by both C. abortus and C. pecorum was dimostrated in buffalos affected with abortion hypothesizing that chlamydial agents play a role in the aetiology of abortion in buffalo. While the role of C. abortus as aetiological agent of abortion has been clearly established in ruminants and in pigs, it was not clear yet whether C. pecorum might cause abortion independently from C. abortus. The findings of the present study show a clear evidence for a role of C. pecorum in the aetiology of abortion in buffalo. Reference: 1- Danamur et al., (1991). J. Clin. Microbiol. 35, 1835-1841. Everett et al., (1999). J. Clin. Microbiol. 37 (3), 575-580. Greco et al., (2008). Theriogenology, 69, 1061-1069.