Campylobacter species in dogs and cats and significance to public health in New Zealand : a thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Veterinary Science at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand
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Date
2016
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Massey University
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Abstract
Campylobacter spp. are a major cause of bacterial gastroenteritis in people in the
developed world, including New Zealand. Many sources and transmission routes
exist, as these bacteria are common in animals and the environment. C. jejuni is
most frequently associated with poultry whereas C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus
with dogs and cats, respectively. Published data on Campylobacter in dogs and cats
in New Zealand and on the pathogenic potential of C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus
are very limited. This thesis investigated the prevalence of Campylobacter spp. in
household dogs and cats in Manawatu region, New Zealand, and in raw meat pet
food commercially available in Palmerston North, New Zealand. Five Campylobacter
spp. were isolated and the prevalence rates were significantly influenced by the
culture methods used. C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus were most frequently
detected from dogs and cats, respectively and C. jejuni in pet food samples. An
expanded panel of culture methods was used to screen working farm dogs and their
home-kill raw meat diet in Manawatu. This study reported three Campylobacter spp.
and Helicobacter winghamensis as being isolated from dogs for the first time. The
culture methods were again shown to bias the prevalence estimates. The isolates of
C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus from the household pets study and C. hyointestinalis
from locally farmed deer were used in a study to investigate the analytical sensitivity
in spiked human clinical faecal samples using the ProSpecTTM Campylobacter
Microplate Assay test that was developed for detection of C. jejuni/coli. The results
showed the ability of the test to detect all three species and showed the influence of
bacterial dose, faecal consistency and of the individual faecal samples on the test
results. Further studies investigated the pathogenic potential of C. upsaliensis and C.
helveticus in comparison to C. jejuni using an insect model of disease, Galleria
mellonella, and whole-genome analyses, respectively. The results of the survival
analysis in the G. mellonella study indicated that C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus
have pathogenic potential, but to a lesser extent than C. jejuni. Additionally, several
variables of experimental design were shown to significantly influence estimates of
hazard rates in survival analysis. Whole genome analyses also showed indications of
the pathogenic potential of C. upsaliensis and C. helveticus relative to C. jejuni, and
how it varies between and within species in association with the core and accessory
genomes, functional gene content profiles, and documented and predicted
pathogenic proteins. This thesis has furthered our understanding of the
epidemiology, detection, and pathogenicity of Campylobacter spp. in dogs, cats and
humans, and confirmed raw meat animal food as a potential source of
Campylobacter spp. for both people and animals.
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Keywords
Campylobacter, Dogs, Cats, Infections, Campylobacter infections, Epidemiology, New Zealand, Research Subject Categories::VETERINARY MEDICINE::Veterinary epidemiology