Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Other Generalized Bacterial Infections
Neisseria gonorrheae and N. meningitidis are human
pathogens that have known biohazard potentials for labo-
ratory workers (
Centers for Disease Control/National
Institutes of Health, 2009
). Both have been found naturally
occurring (
Brown et al., 1973
) and experimentally induced
in chimpanzees (
Kuhn, 1971
).
most frequently identified cause of diarrhea in these
animals (
Irving, 1974
) and is a significant zoonotic disease
(
Mulder, 1971; Pike, 1976
).
Acute shigellosis in nonhuman primates is often
fulminant and fatal. It is characterized by diarrhea with
mucus and blood, prostration, edema of the face and neck,
emaciation, and, frequently, prolapse of the rectum.
Animals that recover from an episode often remain
asymptomatic carriers and, although they may have nega-
tive fecal cultures, they may also have recurrent acute
episodes in times of stress (
Whitney, 1976
).
The disease in people, like that in nonhuman primates,
varies from the completely healthy asymptomatic carrier
state to a severe bacillary dysentery syndrome with bloody
mucoid diarrhea, abdominal cramping, tenesmus, anorexia,
and weight loss. The disease is usually more severe in
children than in adults and may be fatal. Shigella organ-
isms, which may be present in the feces and rarely in the
blood of infected individuals, are spread primarily by the
fecal
e
oral route and also by parenteral inoculation. The
infectious dose is very small: the ID
25
e
ID
50
of S. flexneri
for humans is reported to be approximately 200 organisms
(
Wedum et al., 1972
). Very minimal contact between
infected animals and humans has been incriminated in fatal
disease (
T-W-Fiennes, 1967
), and asymptomatic animals
that are shedding shigellae have been a particular threat to
pet store proprietors just as they are to laboratory workers
and laboratory animals (
Fox, 1975
).
Prevention
These agents may be present in conjunctival,
urethral, and cervical exudates; synovial fluid; urine; feces;
and cerebrospinal fluid. Accidental parenteral inoculation
and direct or indirect contact of mucous membranes with
infectious clinical materials are the primary laboratory
hazards, so universal precautions under Biosafety Level 2
conditions should be observed.
Burkholderia pseudomallei is endemic to southeast
Asia and may be found elsewhere as a normal inhabitant of
soil and water. Many natives of this area have subclinical
infections. However, it can produce a severe and often fatal
disease characterized by disseminated or localized
abscesses in humans and animals. Melioidosis has been
reported in several macaque species (M. mulatta, M. arc-
toides, M. nemiestrina), in an orangutan in Australia, and in
one chimpanzee (
Kaufmann et al., 1970
). A striking feature
of melioidosis is that it may not become clinically apparent
for months or years after an individual leaves the disease-
endemic area. One group of infected monkeys had been in
the USA for 6 months to 3 years before the disease became
clinically apparent. The source of infection in the 4-year-
old chimpanzee was not determined. However, it was
hypothesized that the organism was transmitted by animal
caretakers who also worked with infected macaques in the
same colony (
Butler et al., 1971
).
Prevention
Animal Biosafety Level 2 facilities and prac-
tices are recommended for activities with experimentally or
naturally infected animals. Access of personnel to areas
where there are animals with shigellosis should be minimal,
and those who work with infected animals should espe-
cially observe enteric precautions with good personal
hygiene and thorough hand washing. Strict quarantine of
newly imported nonhuman primates is essential. Animals
with clinical disease should be further isolated for treat-
ment and must have repeated negative stool cultures before
being returned to the colony. It has also been recommended
that all newly arrived nonhuman primates should be
screened for Shigella infection so that asymptomatic
carriers can also be treated to prevent spread in the colony.
Prevention
Animal Biosafety Level 3 facilities and prac-
tices are recommended for activities involving experimen-
tally or naturally infected animals. B. pseudomallei may be
present in sputum, blood, wound exudates, and various
tissues, depending on the site of localization of infection.
Gastrointestinal Bacterial Infections
Diarrhea is the most common cause of morbidity and
mortality in nonhuman primates, and the etiological agents
isolated represent all of the pathogenic human enteric
bacteria.
Campylobacteriosis
Campylobacteriosis is a disease with moderate to severe
enterocolitis caused by Campylobacter spp. which are small
gram-negative, nonspore-forming, slender, spirally curved,
rod-shaped bacteria. The most significant member of this
genus is C. jejuni, amotile formwith a single polar flagellum
(
Snibert, 1974
) that was formerly classified as a Vibrio.
In healthy human adults, the disease is typically a mild,
self-limiting enteritis characterized by fever, malaise,
Shigellosis
Infection with the gram-negative, nonspore-forming bacilli
of Shigella spp. is extremely common among captive
nonhuman primates. The most frequently found species is
S. flexneri, but S. sonnei, S. boydii, and S. dysenteriae have
all been isolated (
T-W-Fiennes, 1967
). Shigellosis is the
