title: Survey of infectious etiologies of bovine abortion during mid- to late gestation in dairy herds.
abstract: Bovine abortion of unknown infectious etiology still remains a major economic problem. Thus, we investigated whether Brucella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp. and Coxiella burnetii are associated with abortion and/or stillbirth in Tunisian dairy cattle. Using a pan-Chlamydiales PCR, we also investigated the role of Chlamydiaceae, Waddlia chondrophila, Parachlamydia acanthamoebae and other members of the Chlamydiales order in this setting. Veterinary samples taken from mid to late-term abortions from twenty dairy herds were tested. From a total of 150 abortion cases collected, infectious agents were detected by PCR in 73 (48.66%) cases, 13 (8.66%) of which represented co-infections with two infectious agents. Detected pathogens include Brucella spp (31.3%), Chlamydiaceae (4.66%), Waddlia chondrophila (8%), Parachlamydia acanthamoebae (5.33%), Listeria monocytogenes (4.66%) and Salmonella spp. (3.33%). In contrast, Campylobacter spp. and Coxiella burnetii DNA were not detected among the investigated veterinary samples. This demonstrates that different bacterial agents may cause bovine abortion in Tunisia. This is the first report suggesting the role of Parachlamydia acanthamoebae in bovine abortion in Africa. Further studies with a larger number of samples are necessary to confirm whether this emerging pathogen is directly linked to abortion in cattle.
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barkallah
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Yaakoub
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gharbi
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Amal Ben
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Hassena
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Ahlem Ben
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Slima
authors.affiliation: Centre Vétérinaire de Recherche, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Zouhir
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mallek
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Département agroalimentaire, Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gautier
authors.affiliation: Institute of Microbiology, University Hospital Center and University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Gilbert
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Greub
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia.
authors.forename: Radhouane
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gdoura
authors.affiliation: Unité de recherche Toxicologie - Microbiologie Environnementale et Santé (UR11ES70), Faculté des Sciences de Sfax, Université de Sfax-Tunisia, Sfax, Tunisia; Laboratoire de Microbiologie, Département agroalimentaire, Agrocampus Ouest, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Imen
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fendri
mesh_terms: D000034:Abortion, Veterinary / Q000382:microbiology*; D000818:Animals; D001424:Bacterial Infections / Q000382:microbiology*; D002417:Cattle / Q000382:microbiology*; D002418:Cattle Diseases / Q000382:microbiology*; D060085:Coinfection / Q000382:microbiology; D003612:Dairying; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D011247:Pregnancy