Publikationsdatenbank

Clostridium botulinum type D/C intoxication in a dairy cow stock in Saxony-Anhalt (Germany)--report on an innovative diagnostic approach (2016)

Art

Zeitschriftenartikel / wissenschaftlicher Beitrag

Autoren

Dlabola, Janine

Hashish, Emad

Pauly, Birgit

Kubisiak, Bernd

Behm, Ingrid

Heseler, Rüdiger

Schliephake, Annette

Wieler, LH (WE 7)

Neubauer, Heinrich

Seyboldt, Christian

Quelle

Berliner und Münchener tierärztliche Wochenschrift : BMTW

Bandzählung: 129

Heftzählung: 3-4

Seiten: 111 – 117

ISSN: 1439-0299

Sprache

Englisch

Verweise

Pubmed: 27169148

Kontakt

Institut für Mikrobiologie und Tierseuchen

Robert-von-Ostertag-Str. 7-13
Gebäude 35
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 51840 / 51843
mikrobiologie@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

Botulism in cattle is a rare but serious disease. In Germany there is no obligation to report botulism in animals and therefore a precise morbidity rate is not available. In this manuscript we describe an outbreak of Clostridium (C.) botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) intoxication in a Saxony-Anhalt dairy cow stock of 286 Holstein-Friesian cows and offspring in spring/summer 2009 and its diagnostic approach. 122 animals showed clinical signs of BoNT intoxication. 115 of the affected animals (40.2% of the herd) independent of age died or had to be euthanized. Therapeutic attempts failed in almost all diseased cows, only four calves and three heifers recovered. Diagnostic samples of several animals (n = 4) (liver, ruminal and intestinal contents) and feed (n = 6) were tested for BoNT genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). BoNT gene type D was found in several (n = 8) organ samples. The PCR results allowed a preselection of samples for BoNT that were then tested by the mouse bioassay. Thus, the number of mice being inoculated in the mouse bioassay could be reduced. The mouse bioassay turned out positive (wasp-waist) in three preselected organ samples and the neutralization test of one sample with type-specific antitoxin confirmed the presence of BoNT type D. We succeeded in isolating a C. botulinum strain from a liver sample which was typed as a D/C mosaic strain by sequence analysis of the toxin gene. However, the source of the BoNT intoxication could not be traced back.