Chlamydial zoonotic diseases

1
Chlamydial zoonotic diseases

• Psittacosis, ornithosis
• Chlamydophila psittaci
• Reservoir is birds (particularly but not
  exclusively psittacine)
• Transmission by inhalation of dry dust containing
  the organism shed in faeces
• Infected birds may be clinically normal
• When sick, huddled, ruffled feathers, green
  diarrhoea, die

2
Chlamydial zoonotic diseases

• Avoiding human infection
• Antibiotics to decrease infection in birds
• Treat incoming birds

• Prevent contact between caged and wild birds
• Wet down aviary before cleaning / wear mask

3
Other chlamydia of importance/potential

• Chlamydophila felis
• Limited evidence of zoonosis
• Chlamydophila abortus
• Sheep (EAE), goats, cattle and pigs
• Risk to pregnant women (abortion and death)

• C. pneumoniae
• Repiratory disease in humans, horses
• Conjunctivitis in koala
• C. pecorum
• Recently isolated from goats in NZ
• Koala in Australia
• No known human disease

4
Q Fever - Coxiella burnetii

• Human disease
• Non-specific febrile illness
• Retro-orbital pain
• Pneumonitis
• Hepatitis
• If chronic then develops cardio-vascular disease
  (case fatality 65

• Wildlife cycle
• Rodent, lagomorph, or marsupial
• Tick bite (Ixodidae, Argasidae)
• Tick transmission to other wildlife or to humans

5
Q Fever

• Domestic cycle
• Infected cattle, sheep, goats
• Aerosol transmission to other susceptible
  ruminants and to humans (amniotic fluid,
  placenta, milk, dust)

• Other hosts
• Parturient cats and their kittens
• The organism is highly resistant when desiccated,
  fomite transmission occurs
• Passing herds in Switzerland
• Straw packing material

6
Erysipeloid and erysipelas

• Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae
• Soil or animal source?
• Tonsils and GIT pigs
• Long survival in soil
• Fish and slime on fish tanks
• Very wide host range
• Human infection is percutaneous

• In NZ more commonly seen as polyarthritis of
  lambs after dipping
• Human infections possibly underdiagnosed, respond
  well to antibiotic treatment

7
(No Transcript)
8
(No Transcript)
9
Leptospirosis

• Leptospiral serovars in NZ
• australis (?)
• canicola (?)
• copenhageni
• pomona
• balcanica
• hardjobovis
• tarassovi
• ballum

• Maintenance hosts
• Cattle (hardjobovis)
• Pigs (pomoma, tarassovi)
• Possums (balcanica)
• Rats (ballum, copenhageni)
• Mice (ballum)
• Hedgehogs (ballum)

10
(No Transcript)
11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Tuberculosis (Mycobacterium bovis)

• M. tuberculosis (human pathogen)
• M. bovis (cattle, deer, possums, other wild
  mammals, 1-2 of human cases in NZ)
• M. avium (birds, poultry, pigs)
• M. marinum (fish, reptiles, snails)

• NZ bovine TB eradication complicated by infection
  of wildlife predominantly the brushtail possum

15
(No Transcript)
16
(No Transcript)
17
Is Johnes disease of cattle, sheep and deer
(Mycobacterium avium subsp paratuberculosis) the
equivalent of Crohns disease in humans?
18
Mycobacterium marinum