Longitudinal Study of the Excretion Patterns of Thermophilic Campylobacter spp. in Young Pet Dogs in Denmark

Abstract

The Campylobacter excretion patterns of 26 domestic pet dogs were described in a longitudinal study. The dogs entered the study between 3 and 8 months of age and were monitored until 2 years of age. They were tested monthly for Campylobacter carriage in stool samples that were cultured on the Campylobacter-selective media CAT and modified CCDA agar at 37 and 42°C. This study comprised 366 fecal swab samples, of which 278 (76.2%) were found to be Campylobacter positive, with the following distribution of species: 75.0% Campylobacter upsaliensis, 19.4% Campylobacter jejuni, 2.1% Campylobacter lari, 0.7% Campylobacter coli, and 2.8% Campylobacter spp. Isolates were typed by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) to elucidate the strain excretion pattern. All study dogs excreted Campylobacter spp. during the study period. At 3 months of age, 60% of the dogs carried Campylobacter, increasing to nearly 100% carriers at 1 year of age, whereafter the carriage rate decreased to 67% at 24 months of age. The PFGE types showed that individual dogs were often colonized by unique strains of C. upsaliensis for several months, up to 21 months or longer. These C. upsaliensis strains were either clonal (or underwent concurrent minor mutative changes) or independent strains. In contrast, the excreted C. jejuni isolates were much more diverse and, in most cases, only seen in one sample from each dog. A high degree of diversity among different dogs was seen. We conclude that young domestic pet dogs excreted Campylobacter spp. during the majority of their puppyhood and adolescent period. In general C. upsaliensis strains were excreted for months, with short-term interruptions by or cocolonization with other transitory Campylobacter spp., predominantly C. jejuni. C. jejuni was more prevalent in dogs between 3 months and 1 year of age than in dogs between 1 and 2 years of age.

Prevalence of virulence and cytolethal distending toxin (CDT) genes in thermophilic Campylobacter spp. from dogs and humans in Gyeongnam and Busan, Korea

“…In present study, the isolation rate of Campylobacter in dog was lower than that reported by Hald et al (76.2%) [15], however, it was similar to that of Tsai et al (13.9%) [31]. The isolation rate was significantly higher in stray dogs (25.2%) than household dogs (8.8%).…”

“…into their feces. Therefore, contact with the pets has been shown to be a risk factor for Campylobacter infections in humans and actual transmission has been demonstrated [15,29].…”

Prevalence of most common human pathogenicCampylobacterspp. in dogs and cats in Styria, Austria

“…Hald et al . (2004) have created an accurate excretion pattern for thermotolerant C.  spp. and found that the rate of Campylobacter carriers in dogs during development increases from 60% in young animals of 3 months to nearly 100% in animals of 12 months and falls back to 67% at the age of 24 months.…”

“…The most commonly detected species were Campylobacter upsaliensis ( C. upsaliensis) 39–98%, C. jejuni 1.2–51.2% and C. coli 0–9.8% (Hald et al . 2004; Koene et al . 2004; Keller et al .…”

Occurrence of virulence genes among Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli isolates from domestic animals and children

“…Bacteria is frequently isolated both from animals with symptoms of enteritis and from healthy animals (Koane et al 2004). Dogs and cats often live in close proximity to humans, especially children, what brings probability of direct transmission of these pathogens (Hald et al 1997, Hald et al 2004.…”