engleski

First reported coinfection of Escherichia coli and Kurthia gibsonii in laying hens

E. coli is a very common and well-known pathogen in the poultry industry. Although coinfections with other microorganisms have been often reported, to our knowledge, this is the first report of a coinfection with Kurthia gibsonii. Five different laying hen farms have recently reported increased morbidity and mortality rates, and suspected of colibacillosis. Their daily mortalities were examined and the most common lesions were perihepatitis, fibrinous peritonitis and salpingitis. During necropsies, swabs were taken from macroscopically changed organs and bone marrow, and examined bacteriologically. Identification of E. coli was done based on morphological characteristics and confirmed by MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry method, while identification of Kurthia was done based on 16S rRNA sequencing. Both E. coli and Kurthia gibsonii were isolated from liver, peritoneum, ovaries, oviduct and bone marrow samples in high quantity. In total, nine Kurthia isolates were phylogenetically analysed. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by Maximum Likelihood method and Jukes-Cantor model using Molecular Evolutionary Genetics Analysis(MEGAX). The results showed high level of homogeneity between seven isolates, while two isolates from different farms were separated from the main cluster. Although Kurthia spp. are not very well-known species, they are widely distributed in the environment. There is no evidence of pathogenicity in poultry, but they have been isolated from healthy animals and humans, as well as causative agents of infections. Considering the origin of our isolates, we assume the infection could occur ascendingly through the oviduct. Since there has been no reports on Kurthia infections in poultry, it is probably an opportunistic pathogen. Further research is needed to understand the pathogenesis of infection and to determine the importance of Kurthia gibsonii in poultry farming.

Escherichia coli ; Kurthia gibsonii ; coinfection ; poultry

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