title: Persistent, recurring diarrhea in a colony of orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) caused by multiple strains of Campylobacter spp.
abstract: A colony of 10 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) experienced persistent, recurring diarrhea caused by multiple infections with Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli. Infections appeared to have occurred through several mechanisms, including fecal-oral transmission between orangutans, and possibly transmission by houseflies contaminated with the organisms from nearby chicken feces. Among the 14 fecal and environmental C. jejuni isolates, 4 different antibiotic susceptibility profiles were detected; there were also 4 different profiles among the 8 isolates of C. coli. In 5 orangutans, there were back-to-back infections by different strains of C. jejuni, suggesting that a single C. jejuni infection may not confer protective immunity against heterologous strains circulating in the same vicinity. Transmission was effectively interrupted by environmental modifications and a 7-day course of oral erythromycin.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pazzaglia
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Widjaja
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Soebekti
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tjaniadi
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Simanjuntak
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lesmana
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jennings
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017000:Campylobacter coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000662:veterinary*; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology; D005260:Female; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D011148:Pongo pygmaeus; D012008:Recurrence
chemical_list: D004917:Erythromycin