ABSTRACT
Semen from seven koalas was extended in a tris-citrate glucose diluent containing one of four antibiotics at different concentrations and then contaminated with a standard concentration of chlamydiae. These semen preparations were then tested for residual chlamydial viability by an in vitro cell culture assay, and any detrimental effect of the antibiotics on the motility and viability of the sperm was assessed. Penicillin at 25 iu/ml or more, erythromycin at 1000 microg/ml or more and tetracycline at 200 microg/ml or more were highly effective at rendering the chlamydiae non-viable, but streptomycin showed no antichlamydial activity. There was a significant reduction of the motility of spermatozoa extended in diluents containing erythromycin (P < 0.05), but spermatozoa incubated with tetracycline up to concentrations of 200 microg/ml were not affected.
Subject(s)
Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology , Chlamydia/drug effects , Marsupialia/physiology , Semen Preservation/veterinary , Semen/microbiology , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/administration & dosage , Chlamydia/isolation & purification , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Erythromycin/administration & dosage , Erythromycin/pharmacology , Male , Microbial Sensitivity Tests , Penicillins/administration & dosage , Penicillins/pharmacology , Sperm Motility/drug effects , Streptomycin/administration & dosage , Streptomycin/pharmacology , Tetracycline/administration & dosage , Tetracycline/pharmacologyABSTRACT
Artificial insemination is a valuable method for facilitating genetic exchange between captive colonies of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) and for the maintenance of genetically important remnant populations. However, to reduce potential disease transmission, their semen needs to be screened for venereal diseases caused by organisms such as Chlamydia species. Semen samples from 11 koalas, eight of them with clinical signs of cystitis, were examined for the presence of Chlamydia by an optimised PCR assay. Chlamydia was detected in semen from seven of the 11 animals.
Subject(s)
Chlamydia Infections/veterinary , Chlamydia/isolation & purification , Marsupialia , Semen/microbiology , Animals , Anti-Bacterial Agents/therapeutic use , Chlamydia Infections/diagnosis , Chlamydia Infections/drug therapy , Male , Mass Screening/veterinary , Polymerase Chain ReactionABSTRACT
Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common respiratory pathogen of humans which, in addition to causing disease at the respiratory site, has recently been linked to disease at other body sites. If C. pneumoniae does contribute to disease at nonrespiratory sites, then it must have a mechanism by which it reaches these sites. We analyzed the peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) fractions from 60 healthy human blood donors for the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA (by ompA PCR) and chlamydial antigens (by genus- and species-specific monoclonal antibody staining). Ten of the sixty (16. 7%) blood donors were C. pneumoniae positive by PCR, and all 10 of these PCR-positive individuals' samples demonstrated specific staining with anti-C. pneumoniae monoclonal antibodies. The only other host naturally infected with C. pneumoniae is the koala, in which the bacterium also causes respiratory infections. We demonstrated the presence of C. pneumoniae DNA and antigens in the PBMC fractions of 30% of 20 koalas tested. Our finding of C. pneumoniae-infected PBMCs in koalas as well as humans suggests that the ability to infect PBMCs and to disseminate from the respiratory site is not restricted to the human biovar of C. pneumoniae but is a general characteristic of this chlamydial species.
