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| *Opportunistic infections causing inflammatory responses and granulomatous reactions | | *Opportunistic infections causing inflammatory responses and granulomatous reactions |
| *Animal pathogens include ''Actinomyces, Arcanobacterium, Actinobaculum, Nocardia'' and ''Dermatophilus'' | | *Animal pathogens include ''Actinomyces, Arcanobacterium, Actinobaculum, Nocardia'' and ''Dermatophilus'' |
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| ===''Actinomyces, Arcanobacterium'' and ''Actinobaculum'' species=== | | ===''Actinomyces, Arcanobacterium'' and ''Actinobaculum'' species=== |
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| *Non-motile, non-spore-forming bacteria | | *Non-motile, non-spore-forming bacteria |
| *Anaerobic or facultative anaerobes | | *Anaerobic or facultative anaerobes |
− | *Grow on enriched media | + | *Grow on enriched media; non-acid fast |
− | *''Arcanobacterium pyogenes'' formerly known as ''Actinomyces pyogenes'' and ''Corynebacterium pyogenes''
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| *Colonise mucous membranes | | *Colonise mucous membranes |
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| + | *''Arcanobacterium pyogenes'' |
| + | **Characteristics: |
| + | ***Formerly known as ''Actinomyces pyogenes'' and ''Corynebacterium pyogenes'' |
| + | ***Small rod |
| + | ***Grows slowly on blood agar to produce small, white colonies surrounded by a zone of beta-haemolysis after 48 hours |
| + | ***Coryneform morphology, like Chinese characters; may be curved with slightly swollen ends |
| + | ***Found in nasopharyngeal mucosa and genital tract of cattle, sheep, pigs |
| + | **Pathogenicity'' |
| + | ***Opportunistic infections following injury or viral/mycoplasma infection in ruminants and pigs |
| + | ***Extracellular toxins including haemolysin, proteases, DNase and neurominidase |
| + | ***Haemolytic toxin, pyolysin, member of the thiol-activated cytolysins (pore-forming toxins); possibly cytotoxic to phagocytic cells |
| + | **Clinical infections: |
| + | ***Suppurative infections |
| + | ***Abscesses especially in liver |
| + | ***Pyometra |
| + | ***Summer mastitis |
| + | ***Ovine foot disease |
| + | ***Umbilical infections |
| + | ***Pneumonia |
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| + | *''Actinomyces'' |
| + | *Usually long and filamentous branching Gram positive rods |
| + | **''Actinomyces bovis'' found naturally in oral cavity of cattle; prefers anaerobic conditions but not strict anaerobe; penetrates injured tissues to cause granulomatous lesions of soft tissues and bone, causing lumpy jaw; organisms found in sulphur granules |
| + | **''Actinomyces viscosus'' commensal of oral cavity of dogs and humans; causes localised abscesses of skin or granulomatous lesions in thorax which may spread to abdomen causing pyothorax; rods contained in soft grey granules which release the organism when squashed |
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| + | *''Actinbaculum suis'' in preputial mucosa of boars |
| + | *''Actinobaculum'' have a coryneform morphology |
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| + | ''Nocardia'' |
| + | |
| + | *Aerobic short branching rods |
| + | *Cell wall contains mycolic acids (hence slightly acid fast) |
| + | *''Nocardia asteroides'' found in soil |
| + | *Causes granulomatous lesions in animals |
| + | *Survives and multiplies in macrophages |
| + | *Chronic, progressive disease |
| + | *Lesions difficult to treat due to resistance of organisms to many antimicrobials (e.g. penicillins) |