title: Isolation of Brucella microti from mandibular lymph nodes of red foxes, Vulpes vulpes, in lower Austria.
abstract: From the mandibular lymph nodes of wild red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) hunted in the region of Gmünd, Lower Austria, two gram-negative, oxidase- and urease-positive, coccoid rod-shaped bacteria (strains 257 and 284) were isolated. Cells were fast growing, nonmotile, and agglutinated with monospecific anti-Brucella (M) serum. Both strains were biochemically identified as Ochrobactrum anthropi by using the API 20NE test. However, sequencing of the 16S rRNA and recA genes clearly identified strains 257 and 284 as Brucella spp. Further molecular analysis by omp2a/b gene sequencing, multilocus sequence typing and multilocus variable number tandem repeats analysis revealed Brucella microti, a recently described Brucella species that has originally been isolated from diseased common voles (Microtus arvalis) in South Moravia, Czech Republic in 2000. Our findings demonstrate that B. microti is prevalent in a larger geographic area covering the region of South Moravia and parts of Lower Austria. Foxes could have become infected by ingestion of infected common voles.
authors.affiliation: Bundeswehr Institute of Microbiology, Munich, Germany. Holger1Scholz@bundeswehr.org
authors.forename: Holger Christian
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Scholz
authors.forename: Erwin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hofer
authors.forename: Gilles
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Vergnaud
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Le Fleche
authors.forename: Adrian M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Whatmore
authors.forename: Sascha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al Dahouk
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pfeffer
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krüger
authors.forename: Axel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cloeckaert
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tomaso
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria; D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D002002:Brucella / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002006:Brucellosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D018153:Czech Republic / Q000453:epidemiology; D005589:Foxes; D005838:Genotype; D005843:Geography; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000382:microbiology*; D008334:Mandible; D020621:Ochrobactrum anthropi / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S / Q000235:genetics; D011938:Rec A Recombinases / Q000235:genetics; D017421:Sequence Analysis
chemical_list: D001425:Bacterial Outer Membrane Proteins; D012336:RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; D011938:Rec A Recombinases