Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
dizziness, myalgia, abdominal pain, and watery, bile-
stained, malodorous diarrhea (
Butzler and Skirrow, 1979
),
which is usually attributed to food poisoning or the “flu.”
However, campylobacteriosis is an important zoonosis
because it can cause severe and even fatal disease in young
children (
Coffin et al., 1982
) and immunodeficient adults
and because of the increasing prevalence of infection.
Transmission is usually by the oral route, and viable
Campylobacter organisms are found in laboratory animals,
including nonhuman primates (
Renquist, 1987
),
companion animals (
Blaser et al., 1978, 1982
), poultry
(
Deming et al., 1987
), and milk (
Vogt et al., 1984
); they
can survive even in 6
C stream water (
Terzieva and
McPeters, 1991
). Human C. jejuni infection has been
linked to pet animals and transmission from laboratory
primates has been reported but not thoroughly docu-
mented. However, the zoonotic potential of these organ-
isms in a research laboratory setting has been conclusively
demonstrated by serotyping and restriction endonuclease
DNA analysis of the strains found in a laboratory animal
technician with enteritis and animals he was attending
(
Fox et al., 1989
).
trapped in the primate housing area of a major zoo did,
indeed, contain at least one strain of E. coli, Streptococcus
fecalis, and Paracolon spp. identical to those isolated at the
same time from nonhuman primates housed there (
Green-
berg and Sanati, 1970
). This reinforces the recommendation
for keeping animal housing areas free of vermin.
Respiratory Bacterial Infections
Respiratory disease is second to gastrointestinal infection
as the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in
nonhuman primates. Among the bacteria commonly found
causing pneumonia or upper respiratory tract infections in
nonhuman primates are Streptococcus pneumoniae, Bor-
detella bronchiseptica (
Graves, 1968
), Pasteurella multo-
cida, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae (
T-W-
Fiennes, 1967; Kageruka et al., 1971
), and Hemophilus
influenzae, with E. coli, streptococci, and Staphylococcus
aureus as secondary invaders (
Good and May, 1971; Hen-
rickson, 1984
). Pseudomonas, Proteus, and Corynebacteria
infections have also been reported, so it is evident that
nonhuman and human primates share the same pathogenic
respiratory tract flora.
Prevention
Biosafety Level 2 practices and facilities with
enteric precautions are recommended for housing and
working with animals naturally or experimentally infected
with organisms such as Campylobacter transmitted by the
fecal
e
oral route (
Centers for Disease Control/National
Institutes of Health, 2009
).
Prevention
Surgical-type masks, which should be
routinely worn by personnel entering or working in rooms
with nonhuman primates, may serve as physical barriers
and minimize aerosol droplet spread between personnel
and animals (
Dineen, 1971
). However, when working with
animals known to have respiratory infection, it is preferable
to wear HEPA-type face masks. A facility ventilation
system that provides nonrecirculating air at 10 or more
changes per hour may also be of value in reducing the
spread of respiratory diseases within individual rooms as
well as throughout the facility.
Other Zoonotic Enteric Bacteria
Yersinia enterocolitica causes yersiniosis, a common
human intestinal disease marked by diarrhea, enteritis,
pseudoappendicitis, ileitis, erythema nodosum, and some-
times septicemia (
Skavlen et al., 1985
) or acute arthritis. Y.
pseudotuberculosis causes diarrhea and can produce
mesenteric lymphadenitis. These gram-negative, unencap-
sulated ovoid- to rod-shaped organisms are hard to isolate
on routine rectal culture and may be overlooked, but they
are found in the intestine and lymph nodes of both sick and
healthy primates, including humans. Spontaneous disease
related to both species of Yersinia has been reported in
groups of several nonhuman primate species (
Bronson
et al., 1972; Poelma et al., 1977; Rosenberg et al., 1980;
Buhles et al., 1981
).
SPIROCHETAL DISEASES
Spirochetes of the genus Treponema are the causative
agents of syphilis (T. pallidum), yaws (T. per tenue), and
pinta (T. carateum). Syphilis has a characteristic primary
lesion (chancre) at the site of infection, followed by
a secondary granulomatous skin eruption; tertiary disease
may develop many years later in the central nervous
system or any organ (
Elsas et al., 1968
). Yaws is a trop-
ical disease characterized by a primary cutaneous lesion,
followed by a granulomatous skin eruption, and some-
times by late destructive lesions of the skin and bones.
Pinta is a dermatotropic disease of people found
primarily in South and Central America, with immuno-
logical similarities to syphilis, but lacking its generalized
and serious consequences (
Kuhn et al., 1970
). Testing of
many of the species of nonhuman primates from various
geographical areas showed that chimpanzees and many
Prevention
Biosafety Level 2 practices and facilities with
enteric precautions are recommended for housing and
working with animals naturally or experimentally infected
with organisms that are spread via the fecal
e
oral route
(
Centers for Disease Control/National Institutes of Health,
2009
). It is noteworthy that a study to determine the potential
of cockroaches
(Periplaneta americana)
for carrying
enteropathogenic organisms
showed that cockroaches
