title: Distribution of periodontopathic bacterial species in dogs and their owners.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Presently, a large number of individuals consider their companion animals as family members and have close contact with them in daily life. The purpose of the present study was to analyze the distribution of periodontopathic bacterial species in oral specimens taken from dogs and their owners.
  
  
  METHODS
  Dental plaque specimens were collected from 66 dogs and 81 members of 64 families who came to an animal clinic or dog training school in Okayama, Japan, in 2011. Bacterial DNA was extracted from each specimen and PCR analyses using primers specific for 11 periodontopathic species, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Porphyromonas gulae, Treponema denticola, Tannerella forsythia, Capnocytophaga ochracea, Capnocytophaga sputigena, Prevotella intermedia, Prevotella nigrescens, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, Campylobacter rectus, and Eikenella corrodens were performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  P. gulae (71.2%), T. forsythia (77.3%), and C. rectus (66.7%) were frequently found in the dogs, whereas the detection rates of those species in humans were less frequent at 16.0%, 30.9%, and 21.0%, respectively. P. gulae was identified in 13 human subjects and each of their dogs was also positive for the species. Furthermore, E. corrodens and T. denticola in specimens obtained from dogs were correlated with their presence in specimens from owners who had close contact with them.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results suggest that several periodontopathic species could be transmitted between humans and their companion dogs, though the distribution of periodontopathic species in both is generally different.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Osaka University Graduate School of Dentistry, Suita, Osaka, Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamasaki
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nomura
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nakano
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Naka
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Matsumoto-Nakano
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ooshima
mesh_terms: D016976:Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans / Q000302:isolation & purification; D000818:Animals; D001439:Bacteroides / Q000302:isolation & purification; D044883:Campylobacter rectus / Q000302:isolation & purification; D002206:Capnocytophaga / Q000302:isolation & purification; D003773:Dental Plaque / Q000382:microbiology*; D004285:Dogs; D016124:Eikenella corrodens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005260:Female; D006090:Gram-Negative Bacteria / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000662:veterinary; D057805:Pets / Q000382:microbiology*; D017861:Porphyromonas / Q000302:isolation & purification; D016966:Porphyromonas gingivalis / Q000302:isolation & purification; D018713:Prevotella intermedia / Q000302:isolation & purification; D045242:Prevotella nigrescens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D048373:Treponema denticola / Q000302:isolation & purification; D015047:Zoonoses / Q000382:microbiology