Virulent Epidemic Pneumonia in Sheep Caused by the Human Pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii.

ABSTRACT: The human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii has emerged as a frequent cause of hospital-acquired infections, but infection of animals has rarely been observed. Here we analyzed an outbreak of epidemic pneumonia killing hundreds of sheep on a farm in Pakistan and identified A. baumannii as the infecting agent. A pure culture of strain AbPK1 isolated from lungs of sick animals was inoculated into healthy sheep, which subsequently developed similar disease symptoms. Bacteria re-isolated from the infected animals were shown to be identical to the inoculum, fulfilling Koch's postulates. Comparison of the AbPK1 genome against 2283 A. baumannii genomes from the NCBI database revealed that AbPK1 carries genes for unusual surface structures, including a unique composition of iro

SUBMITTER: Linz B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6232368 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature