Naslov
Two outbreaks of Salmonella Abortusequi abortion in mares in Croatia

Autori
Štritof, Zrinka ; Habuš, Josipa ; Grizelj, Ante ; Košković, Zlatko, Barbić, Ljubo ; Stevanović, Vladimir ; Horvatek Tomić, Danijela ; Milas, Zoran ; Perharić, Matko ; Starešina, Vilim ; Turk, Nenad

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
10th International Equine Infectious Diseases Conference, 04 April 2016 - 08 April 2016 ; Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, Supplement / - , 2016, S63-S63

Skup
10th International Equine Infectious Diseases Conference

Mjesto i datum
Buenos Aires, Argentina, 04.04.2016. - 08.04.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
equine abortion; Salmonella Abortusequi

Sažetak
We report two outbreaks of abortion in mares associated with S. Abortusequi. First outbreak occurred in the vicinity of Vrbovec, in the herd of 38 horses. Out of 18 pregnant mares in the herd, within a month eight (44%) mares aborted. Only one foetus was admitted for the post-mortem examination. Lungs, liver and spleen were submitted for bacteriology culture, and from all three organs heavy growth of pure bacterial culture was obtained. Second outbreak occurred in the Gradusa Posavska, a village in the valley of the Sava River, in the herd of 35 horses. Out of 18 pregnant mares in the herd, within two weeks two (11%) mares aborted. Lungs of one aborted foal were admitted for bacteriology testing, and yielded heavy growth of pure bacterial culture. All the mares that aborted were in the last trimester of gravidity. Horses were of cold-blooded breed, bred for meat production. All the animals were kept in the field throughout the year, except in the winter. All four obtained isolates had morphological and biochemical features compatible with Salmonella spp. None of them produced H2S. They were further identified serologically, and antigenic formula 4, 12:-:- was determined. Other causes of infectious abortion were also investigated. Viral causes were excluded in both cases. In a mare from Gradusa Posavska an antibody titer of 1:3200 to Leptospira spp., serovar Pomona was detected. In Europe, S. Abortusequi is considered a historical, eradicated pathogen. The only reported outbreak of S. Abortusequi in Europe was also reported in Croatia (Madic et al., 1997). Apart from that, data on this disease in Europe are extremely scarce. Nevertheless, S. Abortusequi might be endemic in some parts of Croatia, but it is difficult to be sure of that, because in Croatia a vast majority of abortions in cold-blooded mares are not reported, nor are their causes investigated, not even in cases of outbreaks. Despite the fact that the government covers all the expences of investigating an abortion, owners are still reluctant to report an abortion. The reason for this probably lays in the fact that if an infectious cause is determined the owners have to take control measures, which include transport restrictions. As parts of Croatia where these abortions occurred are endemic area for leptospirosis many horses are seropositive. Therefore we believe that despite the detected titer for Leptospira spp., S. Abortusequi is probably the main cause of abortions in both outbreaks. Further investigations are certainly needed in order to get a better insight into epidemiology of S. Abortusequi infections, and clarify its status and significance as a cause of equine abortion in Croatia.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Veterinarska medicina

POVEZANOST RADA