Sangster C R
Taronga Conservation Society Australia, Sydney, Australia
Vet Pathol. 2016 May;53(3):677-81. doi: 10.1177/0300985815594851. Epub 2015 Jul 27.
A single free-ranging common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and 2 captive sibling common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus)from a zoological facility in Sydney, Australia, were diagnosed with multisystemic listeriosis. The brushtail was found dead in an animal enclosure while the ringtails presented with signs of cardiovascular collapse and died shortly thereafter. All 3 animals were culture positive forListeria monocytogenesand demonstrated focal suppurative lesions within the brainstem in addition to fulminant disease in other areas of the thorax and/or abdomen. Listeriosis in phalangeriformes species has rarely been reported, and brainstem lesions have not previously been described. It is speculated that access to the brainstem by the organism may have occurred hematogenously or via retrograde migration along cranial nerves. Sources of infection and the possibility of transmission between animals are also discussed.
一只来自澳大利亚悉尼某动物园的野生帚尾袋貂（帚尾袋貂属）和两只圈养的同胞蜜袋鼯（蜜袋鼯属）被诊断患有多系统李斯特菌病。这只帚尾袋貂被发现死在动物围栏里，而那两只蜜袋鼯出现了心血管衰竭的症状，随后不久死亡。所有3只动物单核细胞增生李斯特菌培养均呈阳性，除了胸部和/或腹部其他部位的暴发性疾病外，在脑干内还表现出局灶性化脓性病变。袋貂目动物患李斯特菌病的情况鲜有报道，此前也未描述过脑干病变。据推测，该病原体可能通过血液途径或沿颅神经逆行迁移进入脑干。文中还讨论了感染源以及动物之间传播的可能性。
