NovelChlamydia-like Organisms as Cause of Bovine Abortions, UK

Nicholas Wheelhouse,David Longbottom,Frank Katzer,Frank Wright

doi:10.3201/eid1608.091878

Abstract

Novel<i>Chlamydia</i>-like Organisms as Cause of Bovine Abortions, UK

Highlights

To the Editor: Despite the worldwide economic impact of, and welfare issues associated with, infectious bovine abortifacients, as well as potential zoonotic threats to human health, accurate diagnosis of the causes of abortion is uncommon [1]
Waddlia chondrophila was isolated from the brain and nervous tissue of an aborted bovine fetus in Germany [2], and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae and other unidentified Chlamydia-like species were identified in 18.3% of bovine placenta samples in Switzerland [3,4]
Given the paucity of information about the causes of infectious bovine abortion and the high prevalence of Chlamydia-like organisms in the samples from Switzerland, we attempted to determine whether such organisms can be detected in bovine fetal tissues in the United Kingdom

Summary

Novel Chlamydialike Organisms as Cause of Bovine

To the Editor: Despite the worldwide economic impact of, and welfare issues associated with, infectious bovine abortifacients, as well as potential zoonotic threats to human health, accurate diagnosis of the causes of abortion is uncommon [1]. Four of the remaining 5 samples clustered with members of the family Rhabdochlamydiaceae; the fifth sequence (CLBUK3), present in the same Rhabdochlamydiaceae/Simkaniaceae cluster, appeared to be more distinct from other family members The identification of these organisms in such a large percentage of the bovine fetal tissue samples tested may indicate a role for these organisms in undiagnosed bovine abortions in the United Kingdom and Europe and may be a zoonotic source of infection for humans. Given the zoonotic potential and the economic and welfare impacts of bovine abortion on the agricultural sector, further studies are required to understand the incidence and pathogenic roles of these organisms in both humans and animals These studies should include broader molecular epidemiologic studies, as well as detailed histologic/immunohistochemical investigations and organism recovery through culture of infected placental and fetal tissues

We thank the Scottish Agricultural

Findings

West Nile Virus Knowledge among