The objective of this study was to determine whether Lawsonia intracellularis was present in the feces of free-living animals collected on two equine premises with documented occurrence of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) Fresh feces from black-tailed jackrabbits (Lepus californicus, n=100), striped skunks (Mephitis mephitis, n=22), feral cats (Felis catus, n=14), Brewer's Blackbirds (Euphagus cyanocephalus, n=10), Virginian opossums (Didelphis virginiana, n=9), raccoons (Procyon lotor, n=4), California ground squirrels (Spermophilus beecheyi, n=3), and coyotes (Canis latrans, n=2) were collected from August 2006 to January 2007 either from the ground while walking the premises or after trapping the animals using live traps Nucleic acid purified from feces was directly processed for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using a real-time PCR assay targeting the aspartate ammonia lyase gene of L intracellularis Purified DNA samples were also precipitated, preamplified for L intracellularis, and analyzed using the same real-time PCR assay, to increase the detection limit to one L intracellularis organism per extracted sample Feces from jackrabbits, striped skunks, Virginian opossums, and coyotes tested PCR positive for L intracellularis, whereas all feces from feral cats, Brewer's Blackbirds, raccoons, and ground squirrels tested PCR negative for L intracellularis PCR testing on DNA extracted directly from feces was positive for L intracellularis in six of 164 fecal samples When DNA purification from feces was followed by a precipitation and preamplification step, five additional fecal samples tested PCR positive for L intracellularis (11/164) The largest number of PCR positive L intracellularis fecal samples was observed in striped skunks, followed by Virginian opossums, jackrabbits, and coyotes This is the first description of L intracellularis in these four species Because the fecal samples were collected at equine farms with confirmed cases of EPE, striped skunks, Virginian opossums, jackrabbits, and coyotes may act as potential sources of infection to susceptible weanlings

https://bioone.org/journals/Journal-of-Wildlife-Diseases/volume-44/issue-4/0090-3558-44.4.992/Detection-of-span-classgenus-speciesLawsonia-intracellularis-span-by-Real-time/10.7589/0090-3558-44.4.992.pdf

Detection of Lawsonia intracellularis by Real-time PCR in the Feces of Free-living Animals from Equine Farms with Documented Occurrence of Equine Proliferative Enteropathy

Colonisation and shedding of Lawsonia intracellularis in experimentally inoculated rodents and in wild rodents on pig farms.

Proliferative enteropathy (PE) caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Lawsonia intracellularis is a disease of high economic impact in swine worldwide. In most other species the disease occurs as a sporadic infection. This paper reports a PE caused by L. intracellularis in a 9-month-old Pura Raza Espanola filly with a history of profuse diarrhoea. Pathological lesions consisted of a severe proliferative enteritis associated with argyrophilic bacteria in the apical cytoplasm of proliferating crypt epithelium. Characteristic PCR products confirmed the presumptive diagnosis of L. intracellularis infection. To our knowledge this is the first report of PE in a horse in Europe caused by L. intracellularis.

Lawsonia intracellularis proliferative enteropathy in a filly.

Evaluation of Lawsonia intracellularis infection in a group of pigs in a subclinically affected herd from weaning to slaughter.

Lawsonia intracellularis causes large economic losses in the pig industry worldwide. Pigs suffer from reduced daily weight gain, poor feed conversion ratio and increased mortality. The number of affected animals and herds in Europe remains unknown. This study will provide an overview of the prevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis in herds with a history of diarrhoea in different European countries and thereby identify country specific differences. Out of the 144 herds sampled in Germany, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, 90.3% (79.2–100.0%) contained at least one positive faecal sample on quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Of the 6450 nursery, growing and finishing pigs of the previously mentioned herds, 26.2% (15.9–41.5%) of the animals were tested positive in faecal samples. Enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) results of 60 herds were 91.7% (70–100%) positive. The percentage of positive samples in these 1791 blood samples was 31.6% (20.3–51.0%). Herd prevalence did not differ significantly by qPCR or ELISA. Significant differences between the countries were found regarding: Within-herd prevalence- qPCR: Samples from Denmark were more often positive than samples of Spain or the United Kingdom. Within-herd prevalence- ELISA: Samples from Denmark were more often positive than samples from Spain and the Netherlands. Affected age category- qPCR: Nursery pigs in Denmark were more often positive and shed more genome equivalents than nursery pigs in the other countries. Concentration of detected genome equivalents- qPCR: The concentration of genome equivalents from Lawsonia intracellularis in herds in Denmark was higher compared to all other countries. A widespread of Lawsonia intracellularis in the six European countries was confirmed, whereby a large part of the positive animals only excreted small amounts of genome equivalents. Country specific differences were found with Denmark in particular diagnosing more Lawsonia intracellularis then the other countries. Herd data collected in this study needs to be analysed to get more information about possible reasons for the differences found between the countries.

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J Bakker

Papers

Prevalence of exposure and infection of Lawsonia intracellularis among slaughter-age pigs.