1. Chlamydiosis in Backyard Chickens (<italic>Gallus gallus</italic>) in Italy.
- Author
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Donati, Manuela, Laroucau, Karine, Guerrini, Alessandro, Balboni, Andrea, Salvatore, Daniela, Catelli, Elena, Lupini, Caterina, Levi, Aurora, and Di Francesco, Antonietta
- Subjects
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CHLAMYDIA psittaci , *CHLAMYDIA infections in animals , *EPIDEMIOLOGY - Abstract
Until recently,
Chlamydia psittaci was considered to be the only etiological agent of avian chlamydiosis, but two new avian species,Chlamydia gallinacea andChlamydia avium , have recently been described in poultry and pigeons or psittacine birds, respectively. The aim of this study was to explore the occurrence ofC. psittaci andC. gallinacea in backyard chickens in Italy. Cloacal swabs were taken from 160 asymptomatic chickens reared in 16 backyard farms. Samples were tested forC. psittaci andC. gallinacea by specific real-time polymerase chain reaction assays, with 24 (15%) of the 160 chickens resulting positive forC. gallinacea . To attempt chlamydial isolation, new samples were obtained from two farms harboring a high prevalence (60% and 70%, respectively) ofC. gallinacea -positive chickens. In total, eightC .gallinacea and oneC. psittaci isolates were successfully recovered from 13 chickens.C. gallinacea was confirmed to be the endemic chlamydial species in chickens, with a highomp A intraspecies diversity. The presence of viableC. psittaci andC. gallinacea demonstrated by isolation from chickens in backyard farms poses a potential public health problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]- Published
- 2018
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