Abstract
Pigs are the natural host for Chlamydia suis, a pathogen which is phylogenetically highly related to the human pathogen C. trachomatis. Chlamydia suis infections are generally treated with tetracyclines. In 1998, tetracyline resistant C. suis strains emerged on U.S. pig farms and they are currently present in the Belgian, Cypriote, German, Israeli, Italian and Swiss pig industry. Infections with tetracycline resistant C. suis strains are mainly associated with severe reproductive failure leading to marked economical loss. We developed a sensitive and specific TaqMan probe-based C. suis real-time PCR for examining clinical samples of both pigs and humans. The analytical sensitivity of the real-time PCR is 10 rDNA copies/reaction without cross-amplifying DNA of other Chlamydia species. The PCR was successfully validated using conjunctival, pharyngeal and stool samples of slaughterhouse employees, as well as porcine samples from two farms with evidence of reproductive failure and one farm without clinical disease. Chlamydia suis was only detected in diseased pigs and in the eyes of humans. Positive humans had no clinical complaints. PCR results were confirmed by culture in McCoy cells. In addition, Chlamydia suis isolates were also examined by the tet(C) PCR, designed for demonstrating the tetracycline resistance gene tet(C). The tet(C) gene was only present in porcine C. suis isolates.
Highlights
Chlamydiaceae are obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that cause a broad range of diseases in both humans and animals
Pigs can become infected by Chlamydia (C.) pecorum, C. abortus, C. psittaci and C. suis [1]
The pig is the only host for C. suis, which is phylogenetically closely related to the human pathogenic agent C. trachomatis [1]
Summary
Chlamydiaceae are obligate intracellular Gram-negative bacteria that cause a broad range of diseases in both humans and animals. Borel et al [17] calculated the sensitivity of the AT micro array over an entire panel of human and animal clinical samples, including five human pharyngeal swabs and four tissues of naturally infected diseased pigs. The PCR was strictly developed for the examination of veterinary samples as it cannot distinguish C. suis from the genetically closely related human pathogen C. trachomatis [19]. It was the aim of the present study to develop a sensitive and specific C. suis realtime PCR for the purpose of examining clinical samples of both pigs and humans
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