Verkühlen Gerd-Josef, Pägelow Dennis, Valentin-Weigand Peter, Fulde Marcus
Berl Munch Tierarztl Wochenschr. 2016 May-Jun;129(5-6):247-50.
Streptococcus (S.) canis is a neglected zoonotic pathogen with increasing impor- tance. Since knowledge about its distribution in pets in Germany is scant, we designed a study and tested 335 dogs and 71 cats for colonization by S. canis. S. canis was isolated from swabs taken from the perianal region by culture and subsequent identification was performed biochemically as well as by PCR. In total, 15.8% (53) of the canine and 8.5% (six) of the feline strains grown on Staphlyo- coccus/Streptococcus Selective Agar were tested positive for the Lancefield group G antigen. The vast majority of strains expressing the Lancefield Group G carbohy- drate (56 out of 59) were further identified as S. canis underlining their outstanding role among animal-associated Group G streptococci (GGS). Furthermore, 90.0% of the canine and 83.3% of the feline S. canis strains harbour the species-specific anti- phagocytic M protein homologue SCM, which has been described as an important virulence factor. In contrast, emm-genes typically encoded by human-specific GGS could not be detected in any of the S. canis isolates. Taken together, this study provides insights into the distribution of the neglected zoonotic pathogen S. canis in a population of pets in Germany. The presence of SCM in the vast majority of strains indicates their pathogenic potential.
犬链球菌是一种被忽视但重要性日益增加的人畜共患病原体。由于德国关于其在宠物中分布的知识匮乏，我们设计了一项研究，对335只狗和71只猫进行了犬链球菌定植检测。通过培养从肛周区域采集的拭子分离出犬链球菌，随后通过生化方法以及聚合酶链反应（PCR）进行鉴定。在葡萄球菌/链球菌选择性琼脂上生长的菌株中，总共15.8%（53株）的犬源菌株和8.5%（6株）的猫源菌株对兰斯菲尔德G群抗原检测呈阳性。绝大多数表达兰斯菲尔德G群碳水化合物的菌株（59株中的56株）被进一步鉴定为犬链球菌，突显了它们在动物相关G群链球菌（GGS）中的突出作用。此外，90.0%的犬源犬链球菌菌株和83.3%的猫源犬链球菌菌株携带物种特异性抗吞噬M蛋白同源物SCM，该蛋白已被描述为一种重要的毒力因子。相比之下，在任何犬链球菌分离株中均未检测到通常由人特异性GGS编码的emm基因。综上所述，本研究深入了解了被忽视的人畜共患病原体犬链球菌在德国宠物群体中的分布情况。绝大多数菌株中存在SCM表明它们具有致病潜力。
