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Chlamydia gallinacea in Brazilian backyard chicken farms

  • Veterinary Microbiology - Research Paper
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Abstract

Avian chlamydiosis is a bacterial infectious disease of birds, considered until recently caused only by Chlamydia psittaci, that now includes the newly described species C. buteonis, C. avium, and C. gallinacea, associated with several avian hosts. Since its recognition as a species in 2014 and having chickens as one of its main hosts, C. gallinacea has already been described in backyard poultry on all continents. The present study aimed to survey by molecular techniques the presence and species of Chlamydia spp. in backyard chickens from three states of the southern region of Brazil (Paraná-PR, Santa Catarina-SC, and Rio Grande do Sul-RS). DNA extracted from cloacal swab samples were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for different species of Chlamydia, namely Chlamydiaceae (23 S rRNA gene), C. psittaci (ompA gene), C. avium (enoA gene) and C. gallinacea (gidA and enoA genes). The 16 S rRNA gene was used for sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. A total of 582 backyard chicken samples were collected and grouped in 238 pools, from 134 properties in 59 municipalities. Chlamydiaceae was detected in 25.2% (60/238) of the samples, in 38.8% (52/134) of the properties and in 66.1% (39/59) of the municipalities. None of the samples yielded positive PCR results for C. psittaci or C. avium. For C. gallinacea, the overall percentage was 16.3% (39/238) according to the results of gidA and enoA genes. Sequence analysis confirmed that the samples corresponded to C. gallinacea. This is the first report of C. gallinacea in Brazil.

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Funding

This study is part of Maria Catalina Ospina-Pinto’s doctoral thesis and was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) with the doctoral scholarship [process: 141869/2019-4].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Ecopatologia de Aves, Departamento de Patologia, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brasil

    Maria Catalina Ospina-Pinto & Tânia Freitas Raso

  2. Laboratório de Doenças Parasitárias, Departamento de Medicina Veterinária Preventiva e Saúde Animal, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária e Zootecnia, Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, São Paulo, SP, 05508-270, Brasil

    Bruna Farias Alves, Herbert Sousa Soares & Hilda Fátima Jesus Pena

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  1. Maria Catalina Ospina-Pinto
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  2. Bruna Farias Alves
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  3. Herbert Sousa Soares
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  4. Hilda Fátima Jesus Pena
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  5. Tânia Freitas Raso
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Contributions

Ospina-Pinto and Raso contributed to the study conception and design, conducted experiments, sample and data analysis, writing, reviewing, and editing. Alves, Soares, and Pena performed the sampling and primary data collection. Alves carried out the spatial analysis. Ospina-Pinto wrote the original draft of the manuscript, and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Tânia Freitas Raso.

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The Ethics Committee on Animal Use (CEUA) of the School of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science of the University of São Paulo (FMVZ-USP) approved this study (CEUA number 2793060219).

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Ospina-Pinto, M.C., Alves, B.F., Soares, H.S. et al. Chlamydia gallinacea in Brazilian backyard chicken farms. Braz J Microbiol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42770-024-01319-9

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