Abstract
Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus (S. gallolyticus) can colonise the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals and is known to cause similar infections in both humans and animals. Data about the spread or prevalence in farm animals are missing. In this study, Trypton Soya Agar was modified to a selective medium enabling the isolation and quantification of S. gallolyticus from faecal samples. The bacterium was observed in 82 out of 91 faecal samples obtained from 18 different organic turkey flocks. The prevalence of shedding birds was estimated by the number of positive fresh droppings and reached up to 100% on most farms. Furthermore, for the first time S. gallolyticus was quantified in faeces from poultry flocks. The median of colony forming units (CFU) per gramme faeces was 3.6 x 105CFU/g. Typing of one isolate from each positive faecal sample by multilocus sequence typing delivered 24 sequence types (STs). Most of the isolates belonged to the clonal complex CC58. The same STs of this complex were detected in up to six different flocks. Partly, these flocks were located in various regions and stocked with varying breeding lines. Regarding the biochemical profiles of the same STs from different farms, the results did not contradict a spread of specific STs in the organic turkey production. Moreover, checking the pubMLST database revealed that STs found in this study were also found in other animal species and in humans. The high detection rate and the number of S. gallolyticus in turkey faeces indicate that this bacterium probably belongs to the common microbiota of the gastrointestinal tract of turkeys from organic flocks. Furthermore, the findings of this study support the suggestion of a possible interspecies transmission.
Highlights
Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus, formerly named Streptococcus bovis biotype I and hereinafter referred to as S. gallolyticus, can be a part of the gut microbiota of wild animals, companion animals, farm animals and humans [1,2,3,4,5]
Concerning the latter point it was shown for instance that the close contact of humans to farm animals can increase the colonisation rate of humans with livestock associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) [18, 19]
In most cases all faecal samples from one flock were tested positive for S. gallolyticus
Summary
Streptococcus gallolyticus subspecies gallolyticus, formerly named Streptococcus bovis biotype I and hereinafter referred to as S. gallolyticus, can be a part of the gut microbiota of wild animals, companion animals, farm animals and humans [1,2,3,4,5]. It is not clear if infections in humans are solely caused by strains which colonise humans only or if a transmission from an animal to a human is possible This lack of knowledge is probably related to the genetic heterogeneity of infectious strains, the kind of applied genotypic characterisations [16, 17] and to the limited number of characterised isolates from people with close animal contact. Concerning the latter point it was shown for instance that the close contact of humans to farm animals can increase the colonisation rate of humans with livestock associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (LA-MRSA) [18, 19]. Faecal samples from birds could be a useful source for detecting the bacterium [24].the opportunity to take faecal samples from organic turkey flocks within the framework of a welfare project [25] was taken to obtain information about the occurrence and spread of S. gallolyticus in turkey flocks
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