OCCURRENCE OF ANAEROBIC-BACTERIA IN DISEASES OF THE DOG AND CAT

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 40  (6) , 876-881
Abstract
A survey for anaerobic bacteria was conducted in 314 clinical specimens from dogs and cats. A total of 187 anaerobic isolates in pure and mixed culture were isolated from 111 of the specimens that contained anaerobic bacteria. Common isolates included Actinomyces (9.1%), Clostridium perfringens (19.3%), other Clostridium spp. (11.2%), Peptostreptococcus anaerobius (7.5%), Bacteroides melaninogenicus (13.4%), other Bacteroides spp. (17.6%) and Fusobacterium necrophorum (5.3%). Anaerobic bacteria were involved in serious lesions that often were life threatening to the animals. Antibiotic susceptibility data indicated that the lincomycin family, the penicillin family, chlorchloramphenicol and cephaloridine are preferred drugs for treatment of anaerobic infections. Data from the survey were used in formulation of a table to aid practitioners in clinical diagnosis of disease caused by anaerobes. C. perfringens was isolated in large numbers from 5 of 6 dogs with a clinical diagnosis of canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis and from 1 cat with hemorrhagic diarrhea. Experimental infections were induced in rats using canine feces as inoculum. Induced lesions contained aerobic and anaerobic bacteria similar to those bacteria isolated in the clinical survey, indicating that feces may serve as a major source of these bacteria in clinical infections of the dog.