Bronchopneumonia in wild boar (Sus scrofa) caused by Rhodococcus equi carrying the VapB type 8 plasmid

Submitted by Vitor Silverio Rodrigues (vitorsrodrigues@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2014-05-27T11:28:43Z No. of bitstreams: 0Bitstream added on 2014-05-27T14:42:57Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 2-s2.0-84875300628.pdf: 320766 bytes, checksum: 66d6baec6676609de6a686b924520d3a (MD5) Made available in DSpace on 2014-05-27T11:28:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2013-03-27 Background: Rhodococcus equi is associated with pyogranulomatous infections, especially in foals, and this bacterium has also emerged as a pathogen for humans, particularly immunocompromised patients. R. equi infections in pigs, wild boar (Sus scrofa) and humans are mainly due to strains carrying the intermediate virulence (VapB) plasmid. In Brazil, R. equi carrying the VapB type 8 plasmid is the most common type recovered from humans co-infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). R. equi infection in pigs and wild boar is restricted predominantly to the lymphatic system, without any reports of pulmonary manifestations. Findings. This report describes the microbiological and histopathological findings, and molecular characterization of R. equi in two bronchopneumonia cases in wild boar using PCR and plasmid profile analysis by digestion with restriction endonucleases. The histological findings were suggestive of pyogranulomatous infection, and the plasmid profile of both R. equi isolates enabled the characterization of the strains as VapB type 8. Conclusions: This is the first report of bronchopneumonia in wild boar due to R. equi. The detection of the VapB type 8 plasmid in R. equi isolates emphasize that wild boar may be a potential source of pathogenic R. equi strains for humans. © 2013 de Vargas et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. Department of Preventive Veterinary Medicine Universidade Federal de Santa Maria UFSM, 97105-900, Santa-Maria, State of Rio Grande do Sul Department of Microbiology Universidade do Contestado- UnC, Santa-Catarina Department of Veterinary Medicine União Pioneira de Integração Social - UPIS, Brasília Department of Veterinary Medicine Universidade Federal Do Vale Do São Francisco - UNIVASF, Petrolina, State of Pernambuco Department of Veterinary Clinic and Cirugic School of Veterinary Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais -UFMG, State of Minas Gerais Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Box 560, Botucatu, State of Sao Paulo, Code 18618-970 Department of Animal Hygiene School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences Kitasato University, Kitasato Department of Veterinary Hygiene and Public Health School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences Universidade Estadual Paulista - UNESP, Box 560, Botucatu, State of Sao Paulo, Code 18618-970