Detection of Anaplasma phagocytophilum in fetal and placental tissue of bovine abortions and perinatal mortalities.

BACKGROUND: Anaplasma phagocytophilum is a tick-borne zoonotic bacterium that is the aetiologic pathogen of tick-borne fever (TBF) in ruminants. In clinical bovine cases of TBF, abortion and stillbirth may be observed. However, in this regard, the pathophysiology of TBF has not yet been completely elucidated, and no clear guidelines to diagnose A. phagocytophilum-related abortions and perinatal mortalities (APM) are available. METHODS: This exploratory study aimed to investigate the presence of A. phagocytophilum in bovine cases of APM and determine whether placental or fetal spleen tissue has the greatest sensitivity for A. phagocytophilum identification. The placenta and fetal spleen of 150 late-term bovine APM cases were analysed using real-time PCR to detect A. phagocytophilum. RESULTS: A total of 2.7% of sampled placentas were positive for A. phagocytophilum, while none of the fetal spleen samples was. LIMITATIONS: No histopathology to detect associated lesions was performed. Consequently, no evidence of causality between the detection of A. phagocytophilum and APM events could be achieved. CONCLUSION: The detection of A. phagocytophilum suggests a potential role of this pathogen in bovine APM, and placental tissue seems to be the most suitable tissue for its identification.

Clinical Conundrum: Neisseria meningitidis Septic Abortion.

Septic shock after abortion is an important cause of global maternal mortality but is rarely encountered in developed countries. We describe a case of septic abortion with a novel associated pathogen: Neisseria meningitidis. A 30-year-old multiparous woman presented in septic shock after an incomplete spontaneous abortion. She received empiric antibiotics and vasopressors, underwent an urgent dilatation and curettage, and was admitted to the intensive care unit. Her blood cultures and endometrial tissue were positive for N. meningitidis. Antibiotics were adjusted based on culture, and the patient recovered. Septic shock requires prompt identification, antibiotic administration, and source control. Here, we identify an uncommon pathogen associated with septic abortion and highlight the importance of broad empiric and subsequent culture-guided antibiotic choice to ensure coverage.

A 25-year retrospective study of Chlamydia psittaci in association with equine reproductive loss in Australia.

Introduction. Chlamydia psittaci is primarily a pathogen of birds but can also cause disease in other species. Equine reproductive loss caused by C. psittaci has recently been identified in Australia where cases of human disease were also reported in individuals exposed to foetal membranes from an ill neonatal foal in New South Wales.Hypothesis/Gap Statement. The prevalence of C. psittaci in association with equine reproductive over time and in different regions of Australia is not known.Aim. This study was conducted to detect C. psittaci in equine abortion cases in Australia using archived samples spanning 25 years.Methodology. We tested for C. psittaci in 600 equine abortion cases reported in Australia between 1994 to 2019 using a Chlamydiaceae real-time quantitative PCR assay targeting the 16S rRNA gene followed by high-resolution melt curve analysis. Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis was performed on positive samples.Results. The overall prevalence of C. psittaci in material from equine abortion cases was 6.5 %. C. psittaci-positive cases were detected in most years that were represented in this study and occurred in Victoria (prevalence of 7.6 %), New South Wales (prevalence of 3.9 %) and South Australia (prevalence of 15.4 %). Genotyping and phylogenetic analysis showed that the C. psittaci detected in the equine abortion cases clustered with the parrot-associated 6BC clade (genotype A/ST24), indicating that infection of horses may be due to spillover from native Australian parrots.Conclusion. This work suggests that C. psittaci has been a significant agent of equine abortion in Australia for several decades and underscores the importance of taking appropriate protective measures to avoid infection when handling equine aborted material.

Proportion of bacterial isolates, their antimicrobial susceptibility profile and factors associated with puerperal sepsis among post-partum/aborted women at a referral Hospital in Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia.

Background: Puerperal sepsis is any bacterial infection of the genital tract that occurs after childbirth. It is among the leading causes of maternal morbidity and mortality especially in low-income countries including Ethiopia. The aim of this study was to determine the proportion of bacterial isolates, their antimicrobial susceptibility profile and factors associated with puerperal sepsis among post-partum/aborted women at a Referral Hospital in Bahir Dar, Northwest Ethiopia. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from January to May 2017 among 166 post-partum/aborted women admitted to Felege Hiwot Referral Hospital for medical services and suspected for puerperal sepsis.. Socio-demographic data and associated factors were collected using structured questionnaire. Bacteria were isolated and identified from blood samples on Trypton soya broth, blood, Chocolate and MacConkey agars following standard bacteriological procedures. The VITEK 2 identification and susceptibility testing system was used to determine the antimicrobial susceptibility profiles of bacterial isolates. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Factors associated with puerperal sepsis were considered statistically significant at P-value < 0.05. Results: The overall proportion of bacterial isolates among post-partum/aborted women was 33.7% (56/166); of which 55.4% was caused by Gram-negative and 44.6% was by Gram-positive bacteria. The most frequently isolated bacteria were Escherichia coli (32.1%) from Gram-negatives and Staphylococcus aureus (33.9%) from Gram-positives. The proportion of other isolates was (7.2%) for Coagulase Negative Staphylococci (CoNS), (12.5%) for Klebsiella pneumoniae, (10.7%) for Acinetobacter baumanni and (3.6%) for Raoultella ornithinolytica. All isolates of Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were resistant to tetracycline (100%). The gram negatives show resistance to Cefazolin (72.7%), Tetracycline (93.9%) and Ampicillin (100%). The overall prevalence of multidrug resistance (MDR) was 84%. Women having multiparous parity were more likely to develop puerperal sepsis than primiparous parity (AOR 4.045; 95% CI: 1.479-11.061; P < 0.05). Other socio-demographic and clinical factors had no significant association with puerperal sepsis. Conclusion: About one third of post-partum/aborted women suspected for puerperal sepsis were infected with one or more bacterial isolates. Significant proportion of bacterial isolates showed mono and multi-drug resistance for the commonly prescribed antibiotics. Women with multiparous parity were more likely to develop puerperal sepsis than primiparous parity.

Septic abortion presenting as a right lower trapezius abscess secondary to Bacteroides fragilis bacteraemia.

A 43-year-old Japanese woman was evaluated in the outpatient department for right shoulder pain and fever, which began 5 days earlier. MRI of the right shoulder revealed a high-intensity area deep in the right trapezius muscle. Aspiration revealed purulent fluid, and Gram staining of the fluid showed Gram-negative bacilli. The patient was also found to be profoundly anaemic and to have a positive urine pregnancy test. On admission, we initiated intravenous ampicillin-sulbactam and aztreonam. She underwent dilatation and curettage for septic abortion and surgical drainage of the right shoulder abscess. Bacteroides fragilis was isolated from the blood, uterine aspiration and abscess samples. On hospital day 4, a whole-body CT scan revealed no other abscesses, and ampicillin-sulbactam was continued for 28 days. The patient was discharged on hospital day 29. Gram staining is an important tool for evaluating infectious aetiologies.

Isolation of Salmonella typhi from high vaginal swab in a case of septic abortion.

Salmonella Typhi can be a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in pregnant females with adverse outcomes. Risk of infections increases manifold during pregnancy due to hormonal changes and immunological phenomena. S. Typhi has the ability to cross placenta (vertical transmission) resulting in miscarriage, stillbirth or premature labour. We report a case of a pregnant female who was admitted to emergency department with fever, missed abortion and hypovolaemic shock. Subsequently, S. Typhi was isolated from her high vaginal swab and blood cultures. Follow-up cultures were negative for S. Typhi, and the patient was discharged after 10 days. The possibility of salmonellosis should be considered if a pregnant woman residing in an endemic area presents with high-grade fever. Furthermore, it should be promptly treated to prevent foetal loss.

Key Role of Capsular Polysaccharide in the Induction of Systemic Infection and Abortion by Hypervirulent Campylobacter jejuni.

Campylobacter jejuni is a zoonotic pathogen, and a hypervirulent clone, named clone SA, has recently emerged as the predominant cause of ovine abortion in the United States. To induce abortion, orally ingested Campylobacter must translocate across the intestinal epithelium, spread systemically in the circulation, and reach the fetoplacental tissue. Bacterial factors involved in these steps are not well understood. C. jejuni is known to produce capsular polysaccharide (CPS), but the specific role that CPS plays in systemic infection and particularly abortion in animals remains to be determined. In this study, we evaluated the role of CPS in bacteremia using a mouse model and in abortion using a pregnant guinea pig model following oral challenge. Compared with C. jejuni NCTC 11168 and 81-176, a clone SA isolate (IA3902) resulted in significantly higher bacterial counts and a significantly longer duration of bacteremia in mice. The loss of capsule production via gene-specific mutagenesis in IA3902 led to the complete abolishment of bacteremia in mice and abortion in pregnant guinea pigs, while complementation of capsule expression almost fully restored these phenotypes. The capsule mutant strain was also impaired for survival in guinea pig sera and sheep blood. Sequence-based analyses revealed that clone SA possesses a unique CPS locus with a mosaic structure, which has been stably maintained in all clone SA isolates derived from various hosts and times. These findings establish CPS as a key virulence factor for the induction of systemic infection and abortion in pregnant animals and provide a viable candidate for the development of vaccines against hypervirulent C. jejuni.

Chlamydia trachomatis and chlamydia-like bacteria: new enemies of human pregnancies.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review provides an update on the roles of Chlamydia trachomatis and the related Waddlia chondrophila and Parachlamydia acanthamoebae in miscarriage, stillbirths and preterm labour in humans. A broad audience, including microbiologist, infectiologists, obstetricians and gynaecologists, should be aware of the potential threat of these Chlamydiales for human reproduction. RECENT FINDINGS: Despite increasing laboratory techniques and possibilities to perform diagnostic tests, the cause of miscarriage is only identified in 50% of the cases. Intracellular bacteria, such as C. trachomatis and Chlamydia-related bacteria, are difficult to detect in routine clinical samples and could represent possible agents of miscarriages. C. trachomatis is considered the world largest sexual transmitted bacterial agent and is associated with adverse pregnancy outcome in human. In the last decade Chlamydia-like organisms, such as W. chondrophila and P. acanthamoebae, have also been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes in human and/or animals. SUMMARY: We review here the current evidences for a pathogenic role in humans, the diagnostic approaches and possible treatment options of C. trachomatis, W. chondrophila and P. acanthamoebae.

Experimental challenge of pregnant cattle with the putative abortifacient Waddlia chondrophila.

Waddlia chondrophila is a Gram-negative intracellular bacterial organism that is related to classical chlamydial species and has been implicated as a cause of abortion in cattle. Despite an increasing number of observational studies linking W. chondrophila infection to cattle abortion, little direct experimental evidence exists. Given this paucity of direct evidence the current study was carried out to investigate whether experimental challenge of pregnant cattle with W. chondrophila would result in infection and abortion. Nine pregnant Friesian-Holstein heifers received 2 × 108 inclusion forming units (IFU) W. chondrophila intravenously on day 105-110 of pregnancy, while four negative-control animals underwent mock challenge. Only one of the challenged animals showed pathogen-associated lesions, with the organism being detected in the diseased placenta. Importantly, the organism was re-isolated and its identity confirmed by whole genome sequencing, confirming Koch's third and fourth postulates. However, while infection of the placenta was observed, the experimental challenge in this study did not confirm the abortifacient potential of the organism.

Septic abortion caused by Campylobacter jejuni bacteraemia.

A 20-year-old female patient, 14 weeks pregnant, was admitted to hospital with anamnestic and clinical features of acute pyelonephritis. Clinical signs of septic abortion developed and after obstetric examination the therapy was changed to ampicillin, gentamicin and clindamycin. Campylobacter jejuni was isolated from blood cultures. Pathohistological findings confirmed diagnosis of purulent chorioamnionitis. After 2 weeks of ciprofloxacin administration the patient fully recovered. Campylobacter jejuni was not isolated from stool culture and no signs of acute enteritis were registered during the illness. Invasive forms of Campylobacter disease without enteritis are not unusual in immunocompromised hosts but they are restricted to C. fetus rather than C. jejuni isolates.

Treating spontaneous and induced septic abortions.

Worldwide, abortion accounts for approximately 14% of pregnancy-related deaths, and septic abortion is a major cause of the deaths from abortion. Today, septic abortion is an uncommon event in the United States. The most critical treatment of septic abortion remains the prompt removal of infected tissue. Antibiotic administration and fluid resuscitation provide necessary secondary levels of treatment. Most young physicians have never treated septic abortion. Many obstetrician-gynecologists experience, or plan to experience, global health activities and will likely care for women with septic abortion. Thus, updated knowledge of the pathophysiology, clinical presentation, microbes, and proper treatment is needed to optimally treat this emergency condition when it exists. The pathophysiology of septic abortion involves infection of the placenta, especially the maternal villous space that leads to a high frequency of bacteremia. Symptoms and signs range from mild to severe. The microbes involved are usually common vaginal bacteria, including anaerobes, but occasionally potentially very serious and lethal infection is caused by bacteria that produce toxins. The primary treatment is early curettage to remove infected and devitalized tissue even in the face of continued fetal heart tones. Important secondary treatments are the administration of fluids and antibiotics. Updated references of sepsis and septic shock are reviewed.

Insights into potential pathogenesis mechanisms associated with Campylobacter jejuni-induced abortion in ewes.

BACKGROUND: Campylobacter jejuni is commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of many food-animals including sheep without causing visible clinical symptoms of disease. However, C. jejuni has been implicated in ovine abortion cases worldwide. Specifically, in the USA, the C. jejuni sheep abortion (SA) clone has been increasingly associated with sheep abortion. In vivo studies in sheep (the natural host) are needed to better characterize the virulence potential and pathogenesis of this clone. RESULTS: Pregnant ewes intravenously (IV) or orally inoculated with ovine or bovine abortion-associated C. jejuni SA clones exhibited partial or complete uterine prolapse with retained placenta, and abortion or stillbirth, whereas delivery of healthy lambs occurred in pregnant ewes inoculated with C. jejuni 81-176 or in the uninfected group. In sheep inoculated with the SA clone, histopathological lesions including suppurative necrotizing placentitis and/or endometritis coincided with: 1) increased apoptotic death of trophoblasts, 2) increased expression of the host genes (e.g. genes encoding interleukin IL-6 and IL-15) related to cellular necrosis and pro-inflammatory responses in uterus, and 3) decreased expression of the genes encoding GATA binding protein 6, chordin, and insulin-like 3 (INSL3) that account for embryonic development in uterus. Immunohistochemistry revealed localization of bacterial antigens in trophoblasts lining the chorioallantoic membrane of ewes inoculated with the C. jejuni SA clone. CONCLUSIONS: The results showed that C. jejuni SA clones are capable of causing abortion or stillbirth in experimentally infected sheep. Furthermore, down- or up-regulation of specific genes in the uterus of infected pregnant ewes might implicate host genes in facilitating the disease progression. Since the C. jejuni SA strains share genotypic similarities with clones that have been isolated from human clinical cases of gastroenteritis, these strains might represent a potential public health risk.

Genetic diversity and antimicrobial susceptibility of Campylobacter jejuni isolates associated with sheep abortion in the United States and Great Britain.

Campylobacter infection is a leading cause of ovine abortion worldwide. Historically, genetically diverse Campylobacter fetus and Campylobacter jejuni strains have been implicated in such infections, but since 2003 a highly pathogenic, tetracycline-resistant C. jejuni clone (named SA) has become the predominant cause of sheep abortions in the United States. Whether clone SA was present in earlier U.S. abortion isolates (before 2000) and is associated with sheep abortions outside the United States are unknown. Here, we analyzed 54 C. jejuni isolates collected from U.S. sheep abortions at different time periods and compared them with 42 C. jejuni isolates associated with sheep abortion during 2002 to 2008 in Great Britain, using multilocus sequence typing (MLST), pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), and array-based comparative genomic hybridization (CGH). Although clone SA (ST-8) was present in the early U.S. isolates, it was not as tetracycline resistant (19% versus 100%) or predominant (66% versus 91%) as it was in the late U.S isolates. In contrast, C. jejuni isolates from Great Britain were genetically diverse, comprising 19 STs and lacking ST-8. PFGE and CGH analyses of representative strains further confirmed the population structure of the abortion isolates. Notably, the Great Britain isolates were essentially susceptible to most tested antibiotics, including tetracycline, while the late U.S. isolates were universally resistant to this antibiotic, which could be explained by the common use of tetracyclines for control of sheep abortions in the United States but not in Great Britain. These results suggest that the dominance of clone SA in sheep abortions is unique to the United States, and the use of tetracyclines may have facilitated selection of this highly pathogenic clone.

Listeriosis in the far South of Brazil: neglected infection?

Listeriosis is an under-diagnosed and under-reported infection; however, listeriosis is not a compulsorily notifiable disease in Brazil. We provide an overview of the rates of listeriosis in the United States of America (USA), Europe, Latin America, and Brazil during the past decade. We also report a case of miscarriage caused by listeriosis in which there was no suspicion of this infection. This overview and the case we report serve as reminders of the often-neglected threat of listeriosis and its potential to cause miscarriage while highlighting the necessity of recognizing listeriosis as a compulsorily notifiable disease in Brazil.

Obstetric infections.

Sepsis accounts for approximately 10% of all maternal deaths. Pregnant women are susceptible to certain infections because of alterations in their cell-mediated immunity. Obstetric sepsis requires early broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy and may necessitate surgical intervention. Group A streptococcal infection may produce necrotizing fasciitis and toxic shock. Pyelonephritis remains a common cause of sepsis during pregnancy, and associated acute respiratory distress syndrome occurs more commonly than in the nonpregnant population. Severe pneumonitis caused by influenza virus and varicella zoster infection may occur. Malaria may be more severe in the pregnant woman, and carries significant risk to both mother and fetus.

Listeriosis in the far South of Brazil: neglected infection?

Listeriosis is an under-diagnosed and under-reported infection; however, listeriosis is not a compulsorily notifiable disease in Brazil. We provide an overview of the rates of listeriosis in the United States of America (USA), Europe, Latin America, and Brazil during the past decade. We also report a case of miscarriage caused by listeriosis in which there was no suspicion of this infection. This overview and the case we report serve as reminders of the often-neglected threat of listeriosis and its potential to cause miscarriage while highlighting the necessity of recognizing listeriosis as a compulsorily notifiable disease in Brazil.

Q fever and pregnancy: disease, prevention, and strain specificity.

The link between fetal morbidity and Q fever and the necessity of long-term antibiotics for Coxiella burnetii infection during pregnancy have been recently questioned in the Netherlands, where the clone responsible for the Q fever outbreak harbors the QpH1 plasmid. In this context, we assessed pregnancy outcomes according to antibiotic administration in a new series and compared the plasmid type between isolates associated with abortion and other clinical isolates to determine if there is a link between genotype and abortion in humans. All French patients who received a diagnosis of Q fever during pregnancy at the French National Referral Centre for Q Fever from 2006 through July 2011 were included. On the other hand, the plasmid types of 160 clinical isolates, including seven isolates from patients who experienced an abortion, were compared. The differences between the QpDV and QpH1 plasmid sequences were analyzed. Acute Q fever was a cause of fetal morbidity, and the absence of long-term cotrimoxazole therapy was associated with fetal death (p < 0.0001). Genotypic analysis showed that the QpDV plasmid was more frequent in isolates associated with abortion (p = 0.03). A comparison of the plasmid sequences revealed that four QpDV proteins had no direct counterparts in QpH1, with two whose functions were not present in QpH1. The different obstetrical morbidity of C. burnetii relative to different geographical areas could be related to strain specificity, possibly based on differences in plasmid sequences, or to a failure of public health authorities to detect early miscarriages.

Clostridium septicum infection in a young pregnant patient.

This report describes a young pregnant woman who presented to a rural emergency department with vaginal bleeding at 7 weeks of gestation. Initially, the patient was stable; however, within 8 h the patient deteriorated into fulminant septic shock. She required aggressive resuscitation and surgical management of a septic abortion. The patient's condition improved rapidly following surgical evacuation of the uterus with dilatation and curettage. She has had no long-term sequelae. Blood and tissue cultures returned positive for Clostridium septicum. To the best of our knowledge, this is the only reported case of survival from C septicum infection in a pregnant woman and highlights the importance of improved awareness and management of such infections by the medical community so that future cases can achieve similarly successful outcomes.

Salmonellosis in cattle: advantages of being an experimental model.

Salmonellosis is an important disease of cattle caused predominantly by Salmonella enterica serotypes Typhimurium (S. typhimurium) and Dublin (S. dublin). S. typhimurium causes acute enteritis and exudative diarrhea in calves. In addition to enteric disease, S. dublin can cause systemic infections, and may cause abortion in pregnant cows. Calves are considered a relevant model for non-typhoidal salmonellosis in humans. Experimental oral infections or inoculation of ligated ileal loops in calves have been extensively studied recently. This article reviews relevant published results regarding bovine salmonellosis as a natural disease or as an animal model.