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Research article2010Peer reviewedOpen access

An investigation on the presence of Chlamydiaceae in Swedish dogs

Holst, Bodil Strom; Hanas, Sofia; Bolske, Goran; Forsberg, Catharina Linde

Abstract

Background: Bacteria belonging to the family Chlamydiaceae cause a broad spectrum of diseases in a wide range of hosts, including man, other mammals, and birds. Upper respiratory and genital diseases are common clinical problems caused by Chlamydiaceae. Very little is known about chlamydial infections in dogs. Few clinical reports on natural disease in dogs describe mainly conjunctival and upper respiratory signs, and the role of Chlamydiaceae in genital disease is unclear. The present study aimed at studying the prevalence of Chlamydiaceae in healthy dogs and in dogs with genital or upper respiratory disease, including conjunctivitis.Methods: A real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Chlamydiaceae was used to detect any chlamydial species within this family. Swab samples from the conjunctiva and the mucosal membranes of the oropharynx, rectum and genital tract were taken from 79 dogs: 27 clinically healthy dogs, 25 dogs with clinical signs from the genital tract and 28 dogs with conjunctivitis. There were 52 female and 27 male dogs. From 7 of the male dogs, additional semen samples were analysed.Results: No Chlamydiaceae were detected from any dog.Conclusions: Although the number of dogs that was included is limited, the results suggest that cases of Chlamydiaceae in dogs probably are related to infection from other species, and that dogs in general do not harbour Chlamydiaceae. Bacteria belonging to the family Chlamydiaceae do not seem to be of major importance for genital or ocular disease in Swedish dogs.

Published in

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica
2010, Volume: 52, article number: 63
Publisher: BIOMED CENTRAL LTD

      SLU Authors

      • UKÄ Subject classification

      Animal and Dairy Science
      Veterinary Science

      Publication identifier

      DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/1751-0147-52-63

      Permanent link to this page (URI)

      https://res.slu.se/id/publ/61076