A Review of Necrobacillosis Mell Wostoupal Iowa State College
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Volume 19 | Issue 1 Article 4 1957 A Review of Necrobacillosis Mell Wostoupal Iowa State College Follow this and additional works at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowastate_veterinarian Part of the Large or Food Animal and Equine Medicine Commons, and the Veterinary Pathology and Pathobiology Commons Recommended Citation Wostoupal, Mell (1957) "A Review of Necrobacillosis," Iowa State University Veterinarian: Vol. 19 : Iss. 1 , Article 4. Available at: https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/iowastate_veterinarian/vol19/iss1/4 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at Iowa State University Digital Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Iowa State University Veterinarian by an authorized editor of Iowa State University Digital Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Review of NECROBACILLOSIS Mell Wostoupal ecrobacillosjs is an infectious disease ETIOLOLGY N caused by Spherophorus necrop Spherophorus (Actinomyces) necrop horus, occurring in most animals as a horus is a slender, non--motile, gram neg secondary invader and characterized by ative organism varying from coccoid cells sharply defined areas of liquefaction ne to slender filaments. The bacillus is sen crosis having hyperemic and hemorrha sitive to oxygen and under usual condi gic borders. tions does not grow unless good anaero The term includes several disease en bic conditions are obtained. In many tities which may be designated by var types of necrobacillosis it has been shown ious names, depending on the animal in that the bacillus is not the primary in volved and the tissue affected. These en fectious agent, and that the infection must tities are calf diphtheria, foot rot, necro be initiated by viruses or other bacteria. tic hepatitis of cattle and sheep, necrotic It is highly possible that other organisms rumenitis of cattle, and bull nose of swine. produce anaerobic conditions in the body Others are intestinal lesions secondary to tissue by cell destruction and normal ox enteritis in swine and horses, bite and ygen consumption necessary for their castration wounds, contagious pustular metabolic processes. Thus, having estab dermatitis and ulcerative dermatosis of lished vesicles suitable for growth, necro~is f~l sheep, necrotic dermatitis, Spherophorus will then proceed to grow lowing pneumonia, thrush, and qmttor III and multiply '"in the anaerobic medium the horse. The condition may also be and commonly penetrates epithelial mem present in lesions of avian diphtheria, branes on its way to the secondary le secondary to the viral agent, beak ulcer sions. ation of chickens and also may be found It should be noted here that the organ in the typical "button ulcers" of hog ism has been found in the ceca of normal cholera. swine, and it is likely that it exists in the alimentary tract of other animals also. It is possible that the organism may be in [This paper was written by Mell Westoupal, a junior, for a pathology course.] troduced by eating OUT anaerobic condi- Issue 1, 1957 21 tions are produced by other organisms. It there for suitable conditions to occur. does not seem likely that the bacillus mul This is one of the reasons for the 3 to 5 tiplies outside the body but it remains day incubation period in the disease. viable in soil and manure for short peri The favorite locations of the lesions are ods of time. Marsh and Tunnicliff were on the cheeks adj acent to the molar teeth, able to demonstrate the organism in a wet at the base of the tongue and on the buc pasture 10 months after sheep with foot cal mucosa, but in more severe outbreaks rot had run on it, but could not demon necrotic lesions may be found in the lar strate it after a second 10 month period. ynx, trachea, lungs, esophagus and ru They also determined that under these men. At first the lesions resemble small favorable conditions, it could survive one scabs but later coalesce to form a necro winter in the rigorous climate of Mon tic area surrounded by a reddened zone. tana. A offensive odor similar to that of lim Many workers have concluded that an burger cheese and sulfur is present. Yel exotoxin is produced by the organism due low to greenish necrotic mateiral is pres to the fact that rabbits die after great ent at ,the base of the ulcers and is firm emaciation when the only lesion is a ly attached to the underlying tissue. A small area of edema and inflammation. thick wall of granulation tissue usually An endotoxin is also produced and can surrounds the ulcer. The occurrence of be demonstrated by injecting heat killed diphtheritic membranes covering the le cells into laboratory animals. A subse sions and loss of papillae are common and quent inflammation and necrosis follows the membranes may completely block the intradermal injection in the rabbit which respiratory efforts. is evidence of a heat stable endotoxin. A similar condition occurs in swine Since the tissue changes, regardless of also but usually affects the hard palate their location, are essentially the same, and teeth. It may loosen the teeth and only a few of the more common diseases invade the bones of the head as well as will be described. causing large caseous nodules on the skin of the legs similar to those found in the CALF DIPHTHERIA mouth of the calf. Microscopically, the infection shows This is one of the more common forms coagulation necrosis of the cells and py of necrobacillosis which occurs as a fairly knosis and karyolysis of the nuclei. The acute, infectious and highly fatal disease inflammatory exudate is usually of the of young calves. It often attacks whole fibrinous type but at times deep coagu herds, affecting only a few animals but lation necrosis of the mucous membrane later in the course of the disease may be occurs and a fibro-necrotic or diphtheritic come widespread. The mucosal mem membrane is formed. The organism is branes of the throat and mouth are af usually located at the edge of the living fected, thus the names necrotic stomati tissue in a zone of inflammation where tis, laryngitis, and pharyngitis are used. many white blood cells and fibroblasts Most writers refer to the bacillus as are also found. a secondary invader that attacks only Since the disease is one of young weakened tissue, that won't develop in a calves, the animal often experiences diffi mucous membrane, and that enters culty in nursing. Loss of appetite occurs through a slight break in the mucosa. and due to the painful buccal mucosa a Predisposing causes are injuries to the tuft of roughage may be taken, mouthed mucosa from sharp objects, such as stub slightly, and then dropped dejectedly to ble and barley beards, exposure to filth and eruption of teeth in calves. Since the the ground. Temperature elevation, sal organism is a strict anaerobe, it does not ivation, swelling of the cheeks, protrusion develop on the mucous membranes but of the tongue and drooling are some of burrows into deeper tissues after gaining the early symptoms. Respiration may be entrance through abrasions and waits come difficult or accelerated due to a na- 22 Iowa State College Veterinarian sal discharge and coughing occurs if lung portance along with traumatic agents in involvement is present. Calves become serving to weaken and erode the epithe very dehydrated, emaciated and stand lial and horny structures of the foot with a slightly arched back. Animals af which can later be penetrated by the or fected are those confined to areas which ganism if it is brought in contact with the may be contaminated with the organism, foot. Another explanation of the dry pas such as stables, while cases on the range ture type of the disease evolves around are few in number. Filth, damp and un the fact that Spherophorus itself is not clean stables, and traumatic agents tend capable of producing the lesions unless to increase the incidence of the disease. certain conditions are established. If an animal is subjected to wet conditions in FOOT ROT the spring of the year it may have only Necrobacillosis of the foot as defined by a few organisms penetrating the hoof and Flint and Jensen is a necrotizing infec may require several weeks or months to tion of tissues immediately proximal to develop suitable conditions for adequate the coronary band er of interdigital tis growth of the organism, in order for le sues often complicated by arthritis of the sions to develop. These lesions may not coffin joint, and caused in part by Sphero be evident until after the animal is on phous necrophorus, penetrating from the dry pasture later on in the summer or surface. This definition is based on work in the fall. done in Wyoming experiments and does A recent survey in New Zealand not necessarily adequately describe the showed that the incidence of foot rot in primary etiological agent in all parts of pigs was considerably higher in concrete the country. In the Midwest and espe piggeries than those pigs raised on dirt cially in Iowa the organism Corynebac or board floors. Foot rot appeared to in terium pyogenes is found more consis crease as the floor surface increased in tently than Spherophorus necrophorus in roughness and was generally the highest, the lesions of foot rot and therefore the about 19 per cent, in those pigs which latter organism is considered by many to were allowed to run "on and off" of the be only a secondary invader. It is possible concrete. The explanation may be that that there is often confusion here between pigs fee1t are worn and injuries develop actual foot rot and similar lesions of the on the concre1te, allowing the bacteria to foot termed foot abcesses or non-contag enter the damaged hoof, especially when ious foot rot.