Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
VETERINARY MEDICINE
AN EPIZOOTIC OF TYZZER'S DISEASE IN RABBITS IN ISRAEL.
A review of the literature
Abstract
An outbreak of Tyzzers disease (Clostridium piliforme) is described in rabbits in
Israel. The outbreak occurred in young rabbits 12-13 weeks of age. The main
clinical signs observed were diarrhea, anorexia and death. Major post-mortem
findings were diarrhea, severe and extensive miliary hepatitis, hemorrhagic colitis
and lymphomegaly of the mesenteric lymph nodes. The diagnosis was based on
clinical signs, gross post-mortem findings, typical histological findings and
presence of intracellular bacteria in the hepatocytes. To the best knowledge of the
authors, the present report is the second account of Tyzzers in Israel and the first
reported in rabbits.
Introduction
Tyzzers disease is caused by the bacteria Clostridium piliforme (formally Bacillus
piliformis)(1). The bacteria are obligatory intracellular microbes and were discovered
by Ernest Tyzzer in 1917 after observing an epizootic in Japanese waltzing mice(2).
One previous report in Israel has described Tyzzers disease in mice(3). To the best of
the authors knowledge, this is the first report of Tyzzers disease among rabbits in
Israel.
Materials and Methods
Fourteen female New Zealand White rabbits of 12-13 weeks weighing between 1.5 to
2.0 kilograms were purchased from a commercial breeder. Within 24 hours of arrival,
one rabbit was found dead in its cage. Over the next few days two rabbits were found
dead with signs of diarrhea. Four rabbits were anorexic and appeared depressed.
These were sacrificed and underwent post-mortem examination.
Organs were collected and fixed in 10% formalin buffered saline and submitted for
histological examination and evaluation. The tissues were embedded in paraffin,
sectioned at about 4m, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E). Liver
sections were also stained with the Warthin-Starry silver stain and methylene blue.
Results
Four rabbits were necropsied. Isolation of the bacteria was attempted in one rabbit,
6. Cutlip, R.C., Amtower, W.C., Beall, C.W. and Matthews, P.J.: An epizootic of
Tyzzer's disease in rabbits. Lab. Anim. Sci. 21:356-361, 1971.
7. Van Kruiningen, H.J. and Blodgett, S.B.: Tyzzer's disease in a Connecticut rabbitry.
JAVMA. 158:1205-1212, 1971.
8. Prescott, J.F.: Tyzzer's disease in rabbits in Britain. Vet. Rec. 100:285-286, 1977.
9. Ononiwu, J.C. and Julian, R.J.: An outbreak of Tyzzer's disease in an Ontario
rabbitry. Can. Vet. J. 19:107-109, 1978.
10. White, D.J. and Waldron, M.M.: Naturally-occurring Tyzzer's disease in the gerbil.
Vet. Rec. 85:111-114, 1969.
11. Port, C.D., Richter, W.R. and Moise, S.M.: Tyzzer's disease in the gerbil
(Meriones unguiculatus). Lab. Anim. Care. 20:109-111, 1970.
12. Vincent, A.L., Porter, D.D. and Ash, L.R.: Spontaneous lesions and parasites of
the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus. Lab. Anim. Sci.. 25:711-722, 1975.
13. Motzel, S.L. and Gibson, S.V.: Tyzzer disease in hamsters and gerbils from a pet
store supplier. JAV MA. 197:1176-1178, 1990.
14. Yakasaki, Y., Oghiso, Y., Sato, K. and Fujiwara, K.: Tyzzer's disease in hamsters.
Jpn. J. Exp. Med. 44:267-270, 1974.
15. Zook, B.C., Albert, E.N. and Rhorer, R.G.: Tyzzer's disease in the Chinese
hamster (Cricetulus griseus). Lab. Anim. Sci. 27:1033-1035, 1977.
16. Zook, B.C., Huang, K. and Rhorer, R.G.: Tyzzer's disease in Syrian hamsters.
JAVMA. 171:833-836, 1977.
17. Sparrow, S.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in guinea pigs. Vet. Rec.
102:288, 1978.
18. Waggie, K.S., Wagner, J.E. and Kelley, S.T.: Naturally occurring Bacillus
piliformis infection (Tyzzer's disease) in guinea pigs. Lab. Anim. Sci. 36:504-506,
1986.
19. Waggie, K.S., Thornburg, L.P., Grove, K.J. and Wagner, J.E.: Lesions of
experimentally induced Tyzzer's disease in Syrian hamsters, guinea pigs, mice and
rats. Lab. Anim. 21:155-160, 1987.
20. Fries, A.S. and Svendsen, O.: Studies on Tyzzer's disease in rats. Lab. Anim. 12:14, 1978.
21. Fujiwara, K., Nakayama, M. and Takahashi, K.: Serologic detection of in apparent
Tyzzer's disease in rats. Jpn. J. Exp. Med. 51:197-200, 1981.
22. Tsuchitani, M., Umemura, T., Narama, I. and Yanabe, M.: Naturally occurring
Tyzzer's disease in a clean mouse colony: high mortality with coincidental cardiac
lesions. J. Comp. Pathol. 93:499-507, 1983.
23. Furuta, T., Kawamura, S. and Fujiwara, K.: Spontaneous Tyzzer's disease in nude
rats. Nippon Juigaku Zasshi. 46:941-944, 1984.
24. Itoh, T. and Kagiyama, N.: An epizootic form of Tyzzer's disease in a rat colony.
Jikken Dobutsu. 34:85-88, 1985.
25. Motzel, S.L. and Riley, L.K.: Subclinical infection and transmission of Tyzzer's
disease in rats. Lab. Anim. Sci. 42:439-443, 1992.
26. Hansen, A.K., Andersen, H.V. and Svendsen, O.: Studies on the diagnosis of
Tyzzer's disease in laboratory rat colonies with antibodies against Bacillus piliformis
(Clostridium piliforme). Lab. Anim. Sci. 44:424-429, 1994.
27. Livingston, R.S., Franklin, C.L., Besch-Williford, C.L., Hook, R.R., Jr. and Riley,
L.K.: A novel presentation of Clostridium piliforme infection (Tyzzer's disease) in
nude mice. Lab. Anim. Sci. 46:21-25, 1996.
28. Nold, J.B., Swanson, T. and Spraker, T.R.: Bacillus piliformis infection (Tyzzer's
disease) in a Colorado foal. JAVMA. 185:306-307, 1984.
29. Shirakawa, T., Maruyama, K., Nakamura, N., Awakura, T., Ohishi, H., Senba, H.,
Higuchi, T., Sonoda, K., Ono, T. and Matsui, T.: Tyzzer's disease in a foal. Nippon
Juigaku Zasshi. 51:444-446, 1989.
30. Chanter, N.: Infection of horses by Tyzzer's bacillus. Equine Vet. J. 27:1-3, 1995.
31. St Denis, K.A., Waddell-Parks, N. and Belanger, M.: Tyzzer's disease in an 11day-old foal. Can. Vet. J. 41:491-492, 2000.
32. Webb, D.M., Harrington, D.D. and Boehm, P.N.: Bacillus piliformis infection
(Tyzzer's disease) in a calf. JAVMA. 191:431-434, 1987.
33. Ikegami, T., Shirota, K., Une, Y., Nomura, Y., Wada, Y., Goto, K., Takakura, A.,
Itoh, T. and Fujiwara, K.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in a calf. Vet. Pathol.
36:253-255, 1999.
34. Poonacha, K.B. and Smith, H.L.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease as a
complication of distemper and mycotic pneumonia in a dog. JAVMA. 169:419-420,
1976.
35. Qureshi, S.R., Carlton, W.W. and Olander, H.J.: Tyzzer's disease in a dog.
JAVMA. 168:602-604, 1976.
36. Boschert, K.R., Allison, N., Allen, T.L. and Griffin, R.B.: Bacillus piliformis
infection in an adult dog. JAVMA. 192:791-792, 1988.
37. Myerscough, N.: Tyzzer's disease in puppies. Vet. Rec. 122:238, 1988.
38. Whittaker, D.: Tyzzer's disease in puppies. Vet. Rec. 122:310, 1988.
39. Iwanaka, M., Orita, S., Mokuno, Y., Akiyama, K., Nii, A., Yanai, T., Masegi, T.
and Ueda, K.: Tyzzer's disease complicated with distemper in a puppy. J. Vet. Med.
Sci. 55:337-339, 1993.
40. Young, J.K., Baker, D.C. and Burney, D.P.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in
a puppy. Vet. Pathol. 32:63-65, 1995.
41. Kovatch, R.M. and Zebarth, G.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in a cat.
JAVMA. 162:136-138, 1973.
42. Schneck, G.: Tyzzer's disease in an adult cat. Vet. Med. Small Anim. Clin. 70:155156, 1975.
43. Niven, J.S.: Tyzzer's disease in laboratory animals. Z. Versuchstierkd. 10:168-174,
1968.
44. Smith, K.J., Skelton, H.G., Hilyard, E.J., Hadfield, T., Moeller, R.S., Tuur, S.,
Decker, C., Wagner, K.F. and Angritt, P.: Bacillus piliformis infection (Tyzzer's
disease) in a patient infected with HIV-1: confirmation with 16S ribosomal RNA
sequence analysis. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 34:343-348, 1996.
45. Langan, J., Bemis, D., Harbo, S., Pollock, C. and Schumacher, J.: Tyzzer's disease
in a red panda (Ailurus fulgens fulgens). J. Zoo Wildl. Med. 31:558-562, 2000.
46. Poonacha, K.B.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease in a serval (Felis capensis).
J. Vet. Diagn. Invest. 9:82-84, 1997.
47. Saunders, G.K., Sponenberg, D.P. and Marx, K.L.: Tyzzer's disease in a neonatal
cockatiel. Avian Dis. 37:891-894, 1993.
48. Hum, S. and Best, F.G.: Tyzzer's disease in a wombat. Aust. Vet. J. 65:89-91,
1988.
49. Canfield, P.J. and Hartley, W.J.: Tyzzer's disease (Bacillus piliformis) in Australian
marsupials. J. Comp. Pathol. 105:167-173, 1991.
50. Wojcinski, Z.W. and Barker, I.K.: Tyzzer's disease as a complication of canine
distemper in a raccoon. J. Wildl. Dis. 22:55-59, 1986.
51. Schmidt, R.E., Eisenbrandt, D.L. and Hubbard, G.B.: Tyzzer's disease in snow
leopards. J. Comp. Pathol. 94:165-167, 1984.
52. Stanley, S.M., Flatt, R.E. and Daniels, G.N.: Naturally occurring Tyzzer's disease