55 - Bordetellosis

Abstract

•First Described: In 1911 (Bacillus bronchicanis). The genus Bordetella was named after Bordet who first described Bordetella pertussis.•Cause: Bordetella bronchiseptica, an aerobic gram-negative motile coccobacillus (family Alcaligenaceae).•Affected Hosts: Dogs, cats, wild carnivores, pigs, horses, rabbits, rodents, turkey, humans. Dogs and cats share the same strains.•Geographic Distribution: Worldwide.•Mode of Transmission: Aerosol, contact with contaminated fomites and water sources.•Major Clinical Signs: Sneezing, serous to mucopurulent nasal discharge, harsh or honking cough (especially dogs). Dogs and cats with bronchopneumonia can develop fever, lethargy, inappetence, tachypnea, productive cough, and mucopurulent nasal and ocular discharge.•Differential Diagnoses: Upper and lower respiratory diseases such as dynamic airway disease, viral respiratory infections, fungal pneumonia, protozoal pneumonia, respiratory tract neoplasia, airway foreign bodies, chronic bronchitis, eosinophilic bronchopneumopathy or granulomatosis, parasitic infections (such as Filaroides, Oslerus, Capillaria, Paragonimus, Dirofilaria), bronchopneumonias secondary to conditions such as laryngeal paralysis or ciliary dyskinesia, left-sided congestive heart failure.•Human Health Significance: Bordetella bronchiseptica is closely related to B. pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis, which cause whooping cough in humans. Uncommonly, it has been associated with respiratory disease in humans and rarely systemic infections such as peritonitis, bacteremia, and meningitis. It primarily causes disease in the immunocompromised. Contact with dogs and cats has been associated with human infections, but host specificity may also be strain related.