TAYLORELLA

Description:

 Gram-negative
 Short, rod, frequently described as coccibacillus (about 0.8μm x 5 to 6um in size)
 Facultative anaerobe
 Non-motile
 Non-hemolytic
 With thin thread-like capsule
 Oxidase-, catalase-, phosphatase-positive
 Produces no acid from carbohydrates
 It is microaerophilic, slow-growing and highly fastidious

Source/Reservoir

 Found in the genital tracts of stallions, mares and foals.

Species of Veterinary Importance

1. Taylorella equigenitalis (formely known as Haemophilus equigenitalis)

o Disease conditions
 Contagious Equine Metritis
o Host animals
 Horse
o Pathogenesis
 Pre-ejaculatory fluid and semen may be contaminated with T. equigenitalis from the urethral fossa.
 The organism is transmitted naturally by the stallion during mating
 Contaminated fomites can also serve to convey the organism to an uninfected female.
o Diagnosis
 Most affected mares develop a copious mucopurulent
vulval discharge without systemic disturbance within
a few days of service by a carrier stallion.
 Chocolate agar-based media are suitable for isolation
with the addition of amphotericin B, crystal violet and
streptomycin.
 Inoculated plates are incubated under 5 to 10% C02
at 37°C for 4 to 7 days.
 Specimens should be plated out promptly on chocolate
agar or Eugonagar (Becton-Dickinson) in an atmosphere
of 5 percent CO₂. Streptomycin (200-400 µg/ml) and amphotericin B (5 µg/ml)
 Identification criteria for isolates:
 Colonies, which may be visible after 48 hours,
are small, smooth, yellowish-grey and have an
entire edge.
 A slide agglutination test, using high-titred T. equigenitalis antiserum, can be carried out on
the culture.
 A fluorescent antibody technique, rendered specific by absorption with Mannheimia
haemolytica, may be used.
 A latex agglutination kit is available commercially to identify the pathogen.
 A polymerase chain reaction technique has been developed for detecting T. equigenitalis in specimens
 Serological tests including the agglutination, complement fixation and ELISA tests are useful for
confirming active or recent infections but do not detect asymptomatic carriers.
o Treatment and Control
 Susceptible to penicillin, ampicillin, neomycin, chloramphenicol, nitrafurazone, gentamicin, tetracycline,
and chlorhexidine
 Cefotaxime has been shown to be very effective in the treatment and bacteriological cure of naturally
occurring cases of CEM.
 Topical treatment of affected mares consists of a cleansing of the clitoridal fossa with 2% chlorhexidine
followed by liberal application of nitrofurazone ointment (0.2%).
 Test-mating a stallion to 2 maiden mares is a sensitive method for detecting infection. Samples from the
mares are then examined bacteriologically.
 No vaccine is available for CEM.