Cronobacter Support
05-18-2009, 03:08 PM
1st International Conference on Cronobacter Poster Abstract 37
Development of a non-primate animal model for Cronobacter species.
The mechanism(s) by which Cronobacter species cause disease in humans and its minimum infectious dose (MID) remain unknown. As such, it is difficult for regulatory agencies to set policies and for industry to develop control measures for this organism. Herein, we assessed six animal species to find a model that better mimicked human pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of Cronobacter infection. A number of animal models, including pigs (6.37.2 kg; 5 weeks), chicks (1 day), rabbits (2.73.0 kg; 2 months), guinea pigs (300400 g; 34 months) and young gerbils (4050g; 12 months), were used. Animals were challenged orally with 109 colony-forming-units of clinical, environmental or food isolates, and followed for up to 14 days. Blood, fecal specimens and organs (brain, heart, liver, spleen, mesentery, kidney, and intestines) were examined for the presence of Cronobacter spp. None of the young animals presented clinical symptoms observed in Cronobacter infections seen in humans. Some neonatal (6/36) gerbils died within 48 h of infection. While Cronobacter spp. was isolated from fecal samples of all animals challenged, it was only recovered from tissues, including the brain, of gerbils (young and neonatal). Interesting, clinical isolates had the least invasive capabilities, with environmental strains present in larger numbers in organs such as the brain. The data indicated that the probability of positive tissues such as brain, kidney, liver and spleen increases as intestinal concentrations increased. Statistically speaking, no differences among-isolate source (i.e., clinical versus food versus environmental) were observed. Gerbils may be a suitable animal model to evaluate the virulence of Cronobacter strains. In addition, an animal model for the study of Cronobacter pathogenesis will be useful for future policy development. Currently, the neonatal gerbil model is being refined.
Franco Pagotto, Raquel Lenati, Karine H้bert, Min Lin, Luciana Esper and Jeffrey M. Farber
Health Canada, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Development of a non-primate animal model for Cronobacter species.
The mechanism(s) by which Cronobacter species cause disease in humans and its minimum infectious dose (MID) remain unknown. As such, it is difficult for regulatory agencies to set policies and for industry to develop control measures for this organism. Herein, we assessed six animal species to find a model that better mimicked human pathogenesis and clinical manifestations of Cronobacter infection. A number of animal models, including pigs (6.37.2 kg; 5 weeks), chicks (1 day), rabbits (2.73.0 kg; 2 months), guinea pigs (300400 g; 34 months) and young gerbils (4050g; 12 months), were used. Animals were challenged orally with 109 colony-forming-units of clinical, environmental or food isolates, and followed for up to 14 days. Blood, fecal specimens and organs (brain, heart, liver, spleen, mesentery, kidney, and intestines) were examined for the presence of Cronobacter spp. None of the young animals presented clinical symptoms observed in Cronobacter infections seen in humans. Some neonatal (6/36) gerbils died within 48 h of infection. While Cronobacter spp. was isolated from fecal samples of all animals challenged, it was only recovered from tissues, including the brain, of gerbils (young and neonatal). Interesting, clinical isolates had the least invasive capabilities, with environmental strains present in larger numbers in organs such as the brain. The data indicated that the probability of positive tissues such as brain, kidney, liver and spleen increases as intestinal concentrations increased. Statistically speaking, no differences among-isolate source (i.e., clinical versus food versus environmental) were observed. Gerbils may be a suitable animal model to evaluate the virulence of Cronobacter strains. In addition, an animal model for the study of Cronobacter pathogenesis will be useful for future policy development. Currently, the neonatal gerbil model is being refined.
Franco Pagotto, Raquel Lenati, Karine H้bert, Min Lin, Luciana Esper and Jeffrey M. Farber
Health Canada, Bureau of Microbial Hazards, Food Directorate, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.