A Naturally Occurring Enterotyphlocolitis Associated with Dual Infection by Clostridium piliforme and Enteropathogenic Attaching and Effacing Escherichia coli in Syrian Hamsters

Tawfik Aboellail

doi:10.13188/2325-4645.1000003

Abstract

A Naturally Occurring Enterotyphlocolitis Associated with Dual Infection by Clostridium piliforme and Enteropathogenic Attaching and Effacing Escherichia coli in Syrian Hamsters

Highlights

Transmissible enteritis in Syrian hamsters was first described in the seventies where the identity of the causative bacteria was uncertain but the intracellular bacteria were identified with Warthin-Starry stain and electron microscopy
The current report clearly demonstrated that heavy colonization of the small and large intestines of three hamster weanlings by enteropathogenic bacteria and co-infection with C. piliforme resulted in a severe enteric disease similar to that described in the early reports of dual infections [1,2]
Pathologic lesions and molecular confirmation of the identity of the causative bacteria establish AEEC as an important cause of diarrhea, which should be included in the differential lists of enteric pathogens in the hamsters

Summary

Introduction

Transmissible enteritis in Syrian hamsters was first described in the seventies where the identity of the causative bacteria was uncertain but the intracellular bacteria were identified with Warthin-Starry stain and electron microscopy. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) usually results in variably severe diarrhea in a wide range of hosts, including calves, dogs, hamsters, lambs, pigs, rabbits, deer, and humans [4,5]. The severity of the clinical disease in infected animals is attributed to a distinctive mechanism of bacterial colonization that is characterized by intimate bacterial adherence to the intestinal mucosa.

Results

Conclusion