Campylobacter jejuni was inoculated intravenously into pregnant ewes on gestation days 114 and 123 to reproduce ovine abortion. All ewes aborted 7–12 days post-inoculation. High numbers of C. jejuni were isolated from ewe tissues (caruncle, bile, cecal feces), fetal tissues, and placenta. C. jejuni colonies were identified in caruncles and placenta by light microscopy and immunoperoxidase techniques. Histologically, inoculated ewes had a severe purulent endometritis with vasculitis. Placentas from inoculated ewes and field cases showed necrosis and purulent inflammation; however, placentas from inoculated ewes had large numbers of bacterial colonies compared to few bacteria found in field cases. Histologically, only one fetus from the inoculated ewes showed lesions (purulent bronchopneumonia), whereas all fetuses from field cases had a distinct bronchopneumonia, and one fetus showed multifocal hepatic necrosis. These results suggest that C. jejuni (serotypes Penner 1 and Lior 2) is an important abortifacient organism for sheep.
References
1.
AndersonKLHamoudMMUrbanceJWRhoadesHEBrynerJH:
Isolation of Campylobacter jejuni from an aborted caprine fetus.J Am Vet Med Assoc183:
90–92,
1983
2.
AndersonTDMeadorVPChevilleNF:
Pathogenesis of placentitis in the goat inoculated with Brucella abortus.Vet Pathol23:
219–226,
1986
3.
BergRLJutilaWFirehammerBD:
A revised classification of V. fetus.Am J Vet Res32:
11–20,
1971
4.
BlaserMJHardestyHLPowersBWangWL:
Survival of Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni in biological milieus.J Clin Microbiol11:
309–313,
1980
5.
BoscMJDjianeJNicolleARodolakisA:
Evaluation of progesterone, estrogens and placental lactogen in pregnant ewes following experimental infection with an abortive agent Chlamydia psittaci “Var-Ovis.”Theriogenology16:
303–313,
1981
6.
BrynerJHEstesPCFoleyJWO'BerryPA:
Infectivity of three Vibrio fetus biotypes for gallbladder and intestines of cattle, sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs and mice.Am J Vet Res32:
465–470,
1971
7.
BrynerJHO'BerryPAEstesPCFoleyJW:
Studies of vibrios from gallbladder of market sheep and cattle.J Vet Res33:
1439–1444,
1972
8.
DikerKSIstanbulluogluE:
Ovine abortion associated with Campylobacter jejuni.Vet Rec118:
307,
1986
9.
FaheyJLMcKelveyEM:
Quantitative determination of serum immunoglobulins in antibody-agar plates.J Immunol94:
84–90,
1965
10.
FirehammerBDMyersLL:
Campylobacter fetus subsp. jejuni: its possible significance in enteric disease of calves and lambs.Am J Vet Res42:
918–922,
1981
11.
FirehammerBDBorderMM:
Bulk growth procedures and a button agglutination test for Campylobacter.Am J Vet Res47:
1415–1418,
1986
12.
GarciaMMEaglesomeMDRigbyC:
Campylobacter's importance in veterinary medicine.Vet Bull53:
793–818,
1983
13.
HsuSMRaineLFangerH:
The use of avidin-biotinperoxidase complex (ABC) in immunoperoxidase techniques: a comparison between ABC and unlabeled antibody (PAP) procedures.J Histochem Cytochem29:
577–580,
1981
14.
JensenRMillerVAMolelloJA:
Placental pathology of sheep with vibriosis.Am J Vet Res22:
169–185,
1961
15.
JensenRSwiftBL:
Diseases of Sheep,
2nd ed.,
pp. 47–50.
Lea and Febiger,
Philadelphia,
1982
16.
JubbKVFKennedyPCPalmerN:
Pathology of Domestic Animals,
3rd ed.,
vol. 3,
pp. 351–353.
Academic Press,
London,
1985
17.
KarmaliMASkirrowMB:
Taxonomy of the genus Campylobacter.In:
Campylobacter Infection in Man and Animals,
ed. ButzlerJP,
pp. 1–20.
CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL,
1984
18.
KirkbrideCAGatesCECollinsJE:
Abortion in sheep caused by a nonclassified, anaerobic, flagellated bacterium.Am J Vet Res47:
259–262,
1986
19.
KlipsteinFAEngertRFShortHSchenkEA:
Pathogenic properties of Campylobacter jejuni: assay and correlation with clinical manifestations.Infect Immun50:
43–49,
1985
20.
LiorH:
Serotyping of Campylobacter jejuni and E. coli by slide agglutination based on heat-labile antigenic factors.In:
Campylobacter Infections in Man and Animals,
ed. ButzlerJP,
pp. 61–76.
CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL,
1984
ManciniGCarbonaraAOHeremansJF:
Immunochemical quantitation of antigens by single radial immunodiffusion.Immunochem2:
235–254,
1965
23.
MandalBKDeMolPButzlerJP:
Clinical aspects of Campylobacter infection in humans.In:
Campylobacter Infection in Man and Animals,
ed. ButzlerJP,
pp. 21–32.
CRC Press,
Boca Raton, FL,
1984
24.
ManninenKIPrescottJFDohooIR:
Pathogenicity of Campylobacter jejuni isolates from animals and humans.Infect Immun38:
46–52,
1982
25.
MarshHFirehammerBD:
Serological relationships of twenty-three ovine and three bovine strains of Vibrio fetus.Am J Vet Res14:
396–398,
1953
26.
MillerVAJensenRGilroyJJ:
Bacteremia in pregnant sheep following oral administration of Vibrio fetus.Am J Vet Res20:
677–679,
1959
27.
OsborneJC:
Pathologic responses in animals after Vibrio fetus toxin shock.Am J Vet Res26:
1056–1067,
1965
28.
PattonCMBarrettTJMorrisGK:
Comparison of the Penner and Lior methods for serotyping Campylobacter spp.J Clin Microbiol22(4):
558–565,
1985
29.
PennerJLHennessyJNGoodbodyMM:
Development of a scheme for serotyping Campylobacter jejuni.In:
Campylobacter Epidemiology Pathogenesis and Biochemistry,
ed. NewellDG,
pp. 89–91.
MTP Press Ltd,
Lancaster, UK,
1982
30.
PrescottJFMunroeDL:
Campylobacter jejuni enteritis in man and domestic animals.J Am Vet Med Assoc181
(12):
1524–1530,
1982
31.
SawyerMMMoeJBOsburnBI:
Ontogeny of immunity and leukocytes in the ovine fetus and elevation of immunoglobulins related to congenital infection.Am J Vet Res39:
643–648,
1978
32.
SchmitzJASonnRJ:
A study of ewe abortions in Oregon.
Proceedings 26th Annual Meeting Amer Assoc Vet Lab Diagnosticians,
pp. 181–192,
1983
33.
SimorAEKarmaliMAJadavjiTRoscoeM:
Abortion and perinatal sepsis associated with Campylobacter infection.Rev Infec Dis8
(3):
397–402,
1986
34.
WaldstromTBalodaSBDrovacekRFarisABongstonSWalderM:
Swedish isolates of Campylobacter jejuni/coli do not produce cytotonic or cytotoxic enterotoxins.Lancetii:
911,
1983
35.
WarnerDPBrynerJHBeranGW:
Epidemiologic study of campylobacteriosis in Iowa cattle and the possible role of unpasteurized milk as a vehicle of infection.Am J Vet Res47:
254–258,
1986
