title: Isolation and characterization of Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus causing meningitis in ducklings.
abstract: Increased mortality was observed in a group of 10-day-old ducklings in China in 2010. The dead ducklings were characterized by meningitis, suggesting microbial infection as the cause of disease. Laboratory investigation led to the isolation of a bacterial strain designated as AL101002 from the brain of dead ducklings. Subsequent experimental infections with this strain resulted in marked symptoms in the ducklings similar to those observed in nature outbreaks. Gram-staining revealed Gram-positive cocci in pairs or short chains. Phenotypical analysis revealed the microorganism as Streptococcus pasteurianus. DNA sequencing revealed that the isolate was Streptococcus gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus. Experimental infection with AL101002 resulted in the death of ducklings with meningitis. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the isolation of S. gallolyticus subsp. pasteurianus with high virulence in ducklings.
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: mislimeixia@126.com.
authors.forename: Meixia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Changqin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Wanpo
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Shuang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Jiren
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Chong
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Key laboratory of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonosis, Ministry of Agriculture, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China. Electronic address: suzhang@cau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Jingliang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Su
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Guofu
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cheng
authors.affiliation: College of Veterinary Medicine, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China. Electronic address: hxying@mail.hzau.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xueying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000494:pharmacology; D001483:Base Sequence; D001921:Brain / Q000382:microbiology; D002681:China; D004372:Ducks; D008581:Meningitis / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D008826:Microbial Sensitivity Tests; D010802:Phylogeny; D011201:Poultry Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA; D013290:Streptococcal Infections / Q000235:genetics / Q000382:microbiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D013291:Streptococcus / Q000145:classification* / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification; D014774:Virulence / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents