Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Silviculture, Protection and Utilization, Guangdong Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China.
College of Wildlife and Natural Protected Area, Northeast Forestry University, Harbin, 150040, China.
BMC Vet Res. 2023 May 5;19(1):69. doi: 10.1186/s12917-023-03622-3.
Escherichia fergusonii is a common conditionally pathogenic bacterium that infects humans and animals. E. fergusonii has been reported to cause diarrhea, respiratory disease, and septicemia, but it is rarely reported to cause skin infections in animals. E. fergusonii has been isolated from the skin and muscular tissue of Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla aurita). To date, there have been no reports of Chinese pangolins with clinical signs of skin diseases.
This case report describes the clinical case of a subadult (bodyweight: 1.1 kg) female Chinese pangolin from wild rescue with pustules and subcutaneous suppurative infection due to E. fergusonii in the abdominal skin. Bacterial culture, Biochemical analysis, PCR and histopathology were utilized to identify the bacteria in the pustule puncture fluid and infected tissue. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of E. fergusonii-related pustules on a Chinese pangolin.
This case report presents the first observed skin infection in a Chinese pangolin. E. fergusonii infection should be considered as a possible differential diagnosis of pustules and subcutaneous suppurative skin conditions in Chinese pangolins, and we also provide several recommendations for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease.
弗格森埃希氏菌是一种常见的条件致病性细菌，可感染人类和动物。弗格森埃希氏菌已被报道可引起腹泻、呼吸道疾病和败血症，但很少有报道称其可引起动物的皮肤感染。弗格森埃希氏菌已从穿山甲（中华穿山甲）的皮肤和肌肉组织中分离出来。迄今为止，尚未有穿山甲出现皮肤疾病临床症状的报告。
本病例报告描述了一例来自野外救援的未成年（体重：1.1 公斤）雌性中华穿山甲的临床病例，其腹部皮肤出现脓疱和皮下化脓性感染，由弗格森埃希氏菌引起。通过细菌培养、生化分析、PCR 和组织病理学检查，对脓疱穿刺液和感染组织中的细菌进行了鉴定。据我们所知，这是首例中华穿山甲与弗格森埃希氏菌相关的脓疱报告。
本病例报告首次观察到中华穿山甲的皮肤感染。弗格森埃希氏菌感染应被视为中华穿山甲脓疱和皮下化脓性皮肤疾病的可能鉴别诊断，我们还为该疾病的诊断和治疗提供了一些建议。
