Role of enteric pathogens in the aetiology of neonatal diarrhoea in lambs and goat kids in Spain

Faeces samples from diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic lambs and goat kids aged 1-45 days were examined for enteric pathogens. Cryptosporidium parvum was detected in both diarrhoeic lambs (45%) and goat kids (42%) but not in non-diarrhoeic animals. F5+ (K99+) and/or F41+ Escherichia coli strains were isolated from 26% and 22% of the diarrhoeic lambs and goat kids, respectively, although these strains, which did not produce enterotoxins ST I or LT I, were found with similar frequencies in non-diarrhoeic animals. A F5-F41-ST I+ E. coli strain was isolated from a diarrhoeic lamb (0.6%). Verotoxigenic E. coli was isolated from both diarrhoeic and non-diarrhoeic lambs (4.1% and 8.2%, respectively) and there was no association between infection and diarrhoea. The prevalence of group A rotavirus infection in diarrhoeic lambs was very low (2.1%). Groups A and B rotaviruses were detected in three (8.1%) and five (13.5%) diarrhoeic goat kids from two single outbreaks. Group C rotaviruses were detected in four non-diarrhoeic goat kids. An association of diarrhoea and infection was demonstrated only for group B rotavirus. Clostridium perfringens was isolated from 10.8% of the diarrhoeic goat kids but not from non-diarrhoeic goat kids or lambs. Salmonella arizonae was isolated from a diarrhoeic goat kid (2.7%) and the clinical characteristics of the outbreaks where these two latter enteropathogens were found different from the rest. Picobirnaviruses were detected in a diarrhoeic lamb. No coronaviruses were detected using a bovine coronavirus ELISA. No evidence was found of synergistic effect between the agents studied. Enteric pathogens were not found in four (8.7%) and three (20%) outbreaks of diarrhoea in lambs and goat kids, respectively.

[1]  S. Dr,et al.  A survey of rotaviruses in sheep in Scotland , 1977 .

[2]  C. Wray,et al.  Nine DNA probes for detection of toxin and adhesin genes in Escherichia coli isolated from diarrhoeal disease in animals. , 1990, Veterinary microbiology.

[3]  J. Morgan,et al.  Microbiology of calf diarrhoea in southern Britain , 1986, Veterinary Record.

[4]  J. Morgan,et al.  Dysentery in gnotobiotic calves caused by atypical Escherichia coli , 1984, Veterinary Record.

[5]  H. Pereira,et al.  Viruses with bisegmented double-stranded RNA in pig faeces. , 1989, Research in veterinary science.

[6]  S. Tzipori,et al.  Diarrhea in lambs: experimental infections with enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, rotavirus, and Cryptosporidium sp , 1981, Infection and immunity.

[7]  S. Gorbach,et al.  Production of Vascular Permeability Factor by Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli Isolated from Man , 1973, Infection and immunity.

[8]  C. Wray,et al.  Detection of LT and STIa toxins by latex and EIA tests , 1990, Veterinary Record.

[9]  B. Rowe,et al.  Properties of Vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli of human and animal origin belonging to serotypes other than O157: H7 , 1989, Epidemiology and Infection.

[10]  M. Couturier,et al.  Prevalence of four enterotoxin (STaP, STaH, STb, and LT) and four adhesin subunit (K99, K88, 987P, and F41) genes among Escherichia coli isolates from cattle. , 1990, American journal of veterinary research.

[11]  L. Beutin,et al.  Prevalence and some properties of verotoxin (Shiga-like toxin)-producing Escherichia coli in seven different species of healthy domestic animals , 1993, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[12]  W. Jansen,et al.  Detection of the K99 antigen by means of agglutination and immunoelectrophoresis in Escherichia coli isolates from calves and its correlation with entertoxigenicity , 1976, Infection and immunity.

[13]  D. Cid,et al.  F17 fimbriae in Escherichia coli from lambs and kids , 1993, Veterinary Record.

[14]  S. Tzipori,et al.  Diarrhoea in goat kids attributed to cryptosporidium infection , 1982, Veterinary Record.

[15]  P. Cármenes,et al.  Rotavirus excretion by kids in a naturally infected goat herd , 1994, Small Ruminant Research.

[16]  A. Adesiyun,et al.  Prevalence and epidemiology of selected enteric infections of livestock in Trinidad , 1994 .

[17]  P. Cármenes,et al.  An outbreak of diarrhoea associated with atypical rotaviruses in goat kids. , 1995, Research in veterinary science.

[18]  E. Vanopdenbosch,et al.  Birna-type virus in diarrhoeic calf faeces , 1989, Veterinary Record.

[19]  S. Gorbach,et al.  Identification of Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli and Serum Antitoxin Activity by the Vascular Permeability Factor Assay , 1973, Infection and immunity.

[20]  I Campbell,et al.  Aetiology of diarrhoea in young calves , 1986, Veterinary Record.

[21]  Smith Hw.  A search for transmissible pathogenic characters in invasive strains of Escherichia coli: the discovery of a plasmid-controlled toxin and a plasmid-controlled lethal character closely associated, or identical, with colicine V. , 1974 .

[22]  P. Cármenes,et al.  Prevalence of neutralizing antibodies to 9 rotavirus strains representing 7 G-serotypes in sheep sera. , 1995, Veterinary microbiology.

[23]  S. Tzipori,et al.  Clinical manifestations of diarrhea in calves infected with rotavirus and enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli , 1981, Journal of clinical microbiology.

[24]  J. Banks,et al.  The commonest rotaviruses from neonatal lamb diarrhoea in England and Wales have atypical electropherotypes , 1984, Veterinary Record.

[25]  Henriksen Sa,et al.  Staining of Cryptosporidia by a Modified Ziehl-Neelsen Technique , 1981, Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica.