Re-Emergence and Spread of Haemorrhagic Septicaemia in Germany: The Wolf as a Vector?

Abstract

Since 2010, outbreaks of haemorrhagic septicaemia (HS) caused by Pasteurella (P.) multocida capsular type B (PmB) emerged in Germany. In 2017, we noticed a close spatiotemporal relationship between HS outbreak sites and wolf (Canis lupus) territories. Thus, the main objectives of our study were to investigate the molecular epidemiology of German PmB-HS-isolates and to assess the role of wolves as putative vectors of this pathogen. We collected 83 PmB isolates from HS outbreaks that occurred between 2010 and 2019 and sampled 150 wolves, which were found dead in the years 2017 to 2019, revealing another three PmB isolates. A maximum-likelihood-based phylogeny of the core genomes of 65 PmB-HS-isolates and the three PmB-wolf-isolates showed high relatedness. Furthermore, all belonged to capsular:LPS:MLST genotype B:L2:ST122RIRDC and showed highly similar virulence gene profiles, but clustered separately from 35 global ST122RIRDC strains. Our data revealed that German HS outbreaks were caused by a distinct genomic lineage of PmB-ST122 strains, hinting towards an independent, ongoing epidemiologic event. We demonstrated for the first time, that carnivores, i.e., wolves, might harbour PmB as a part of their oropharyngeal microbiota. Furthermore, the results of our study imply that wolves can carry the pathogen over long distances, indicating a major role of that animal species in the ongoing epidemiological event of HS in Germany.

Global commercialization and research of veterinary vaccines against Pasteurella multocida: 2015–2022 technological surveillance

“…From the economic standpoint, it reflects the enormous pressure to minimize losses while raising productive animals and the need to meet the sustained increase in the global demand for animal protein [48]. Other additional motivations that may be stimulating this fact are, increasing demands in terms of food safety [59], high zoonotic risk, emerging epidemiological behavior of the disease, and the urgency to establish control plans adapted to the health realities of each country [12,19].…”

“…Several studies have shown that certain genes contribute to infection success [7] and encode the biosynthesis of key structural and metabolic molecules [8][9][10] required for adhesion, iron acquisition, colonization, immune response evasion, and survival in the host. Other researchers have identified important non-genetic factors involved in their pathogenesis; for instance, this microorganism is normally found in the oropharyngeal cavity [11][12][13], and immunological failures attributable to coinfections, environmental changes, or zootechnical stress are observed [14].…”

Immune Protective Efficacy of Recombinant Outer Membrane Protein H of Pasteurella multocida B:2 Associated with Hemorrhagic Septicemia in Pakistan

“…The diseases like HS are associated with huge economic loses in Pakistan and a study conducted in 2007 revealed an estimated loss of USD20 million due to HS related morbidity and mortality of livestock (Farooq et al, 2007). The two serotypes of the bacterium that are most prevalent in Southern and Southeastern Asian and tropical Africa include B:2 and E:2 (Orynbayev et al, 2019;Cuevas et al, 2020;Kutzer et al, 2021). The disease outbreaks in…”