Respiratory Infection of Turkeys with Listeria monocytogenes Scott A

Abstract

The pathogenesis of L. monocytogenes strain Scott A was studied by challenging day-old male turkey poults by air sac inoculation with tryptose phosphate broth containing 10(0) cfu (control), 10(4), 10(5), and 10(6) cfu (low challenge), or 10(7) and 10(8) cfu (high challenge) of the Scott A (serotype 4b) strain of L. monocytogenes. Mortality at 2 wk postinfection (PI) ranged from 25% for low challenge to 100% for high challenge (P= 0.0001). Gross and histopathological lesions were observed in heart, liver, spleen, lung, and bursa of Fabricius of mortalities at 4 days PI. Listeria monocytogenes challenge resulted in significantly decreased relative weight of the bursa of Fabricius and increased relative weight of the spleen, and L. monocytogenes was isolated by direct plating of liver, pericardium, brain, and both left and right stifle joint synovium (knee) cultures, as well as gall bladder, yolk sac, and cecal tonsil from transfer swabs onto Listeria-selective agar. Isolates were confirmed as positive using Gram stain, biochemical tests, and the Biolog system. High challenge resulted in confirmed L. monocytogenes isolation from 48% of left knee and 59% of right knee cultures. Low challenge resulted in isolation of L. monocytogenes from 11% of both left and right knee cultures. These results suggest that L. monocytogenes Scott A colonization of turkey knee synovial tissue can initiate in day-of-age poults and that L. monocytogenes Scott A can be invasive through air sac infection.

Listeria Occurrence in Poultry Flocks: Detection and Potential Implications

“…There is greater evidence for potential systemic Listeria infection in other avian species, such as turkeys. Huff et al ( 69 ) demonstrated in young turkey poults inoculated with a high or low dose of L. monocytogenes Scott A in the air sac that the high dosed birds reached 100% mortalities in 2 weeks, and the Listeria challenge strain could be isolated from the liver, pericardium, brain, both knee joints, suggesting that L. monocytogenes Scott A could be invasive through the respiratory system of susceptible turkey poults. In a follow-up challenge study comparing oral or oculonasal routes, Huff et al ( 70 ) demonstrated that the oculonasal route led to greater mortalities and lower body weights than orally challenged birds.…”

Listeria monocytogenes: survival and adaptation in the gastrointestinal tract

“…It is significant that L. monocytogenes can colonize the murine gall bladder following oral or intravenous administration (Hardy et al, 2004; Bron et al, 2006). It can also be isolated from the gall bladder in infected guinea pigs (Jensen et al, 2008) and turkeys (Huff et al, 2005), but not in infected sheep (Zundel and Bernard, 2006). There is also evidence suggesting that L. monocytogenes may be a rare cause of human cholecystitis (infection of the gall bladder) (Allerberger et al, 1989; Descy et al, 2012; Bruminhent et al, 2013).…”

The Listeria monocytogenes Bile Stimulon under Acidic Conditions Is Characterized by Strain-Specific Patterns and the Upregulation of Motility, Cell Wall Modification Functions, and the PrfA Regulon

“…Under normal physiological conditions, the bile concentration in the human gut is between 0.005 and 2% (Dawson, 1998 ). Strikingly, L. monocytogenes is able to grow in gall bladders (Hardy et al, 2004 , 2006 ; Huff et al, 2005 ; Jensen et al, 2008 ; Dowd et al, 2011 ), where bile is concentrated at neutral pH. However, once bile is released into the duodenum postprandially, it becomes active in this low pH environment (Dowd et al, 2011 ).…”