Campylobacter jejuni as a cause of canine abortions in the United States.

Abstract

Although Campylobacter jejuni is a common cause of ruminant abortion with great economic impact, the organism has rarely been implicated in canine pregnancy loss, with only 2 documented cases to date. In the current report, 2 cases of perinatal death in adult female Bulldogs associated with C. jejuni infection of fetoplacental organs are described. Fetuses and placentas were received at the Iowa State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (Ames, Iowa) from 3 puppies that died soon after the birth (case 1) and from an aborted fetus (case 2). Microscopic examination of tissues was generally unremarkable; however, multifocal hemorrhage and infiltrates of macrophages and neutrophils were observed in placental sections from the first case (case 1), and low to moderate numbers of degenerate neutrophils were apparent within multifocal alveoli in the fetal lung in the second case (case 2). Ancillary diagnostics for common infectious causes of reproductive failure in dogs were negative. However, C. jejuni was isolated from the submitted placentas in high numbers in both cases as well as from the fetal lungs and livers. Genotyping of the abortion isolates indicated that the isolates were distinct from each other as well as from selected canine enteric C. jejuni isolates included herein for comparison. Both abortion strains were sensitive to all 9 antimicrobials tested, except the isolate from case 2, which displayed resistance to tetracycline. These findings provide convincing evidence for the inclusion of C. jejuni culture in routine diagnostic testing for causes of canine pregnancy loss.