Reinvestigation of the virulence of Rhodococcus equi isolates from patients with and without AIDS. (2nd October 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Takai, S.; Sawada, N.; Nakayama, Y.; Ishizuka, S.; Nakagawa, R.; Kawashima, G.; Sangkanjanavanich, N.; Sasaki, Y.; Kakuda, T.; Suzuki, Y.
• Is Part Of: Letters in applied microbiology. Volume 71:Number 6(2020)
• Page Start: 679
• Page End: 683
• Publication Date: 2020-10-02
• Subjects: AIDS patients -- domestic animals -- Rhodococcus equi -- virulence‐associated protein -- virulence plasmid; Microbiology -- Periodicals; 660.62
• DOI: 10.1111/lam.13386
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0266-8254

Abstract

Abstract: Rhodococcus equi emerged as a zoonotic pathogen of human immunodeficiency virus‐infected patients over the last three decades. Two virulence plasmid types of R. equi, pVAPA and pVAPB associated with equine and porcine isolates, have been recognized, and more recently, pVAPN, a novel host‐associated virulence plasmid in R. equi, was found in bovine and caprine isolates. We reinvestigated 39 previously reported isolates of R. equi from patients with and without acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) by detecting vapA, vapB and vapN using PCR and plasmid profiling. After excluding one isolate that could not be cultured from frozen storage, eight isolates carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapA (pVAPA), 10 carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapB (pVAPB), seven carried a virulence plasmid encoding vapN (pVAPN) and 13 were negative for those genes. Of the 29 isolates from patients with AIDS, 7, 10 and 5 harboured pVAPA, pVAPB and pVAPN respectively. Among nine isolates from patients without AIDS, one and two harboured pVAPA and pVAPN respectively. This study demonstrated that pVAPN‐positive R. equi existed in human isolates before 1994 and reaffirmed that equine‐associated pVAPA‐positive, porcine‐associated pVAPB‐positive and bovine‐ or caprine‐associated pVAPN‐positive R. equi are widely spread globally. Because domestic animals might be major sources of human infection, further research is needed to reveal the prevalence of pVAPN‐positive R. equi infection in cattle and goats. Abstract : Significance and Impact of the Study: Rhodococcus equi is a pathogenic cause of zoonotic diseases with a broad host range. This study demonstrated that virulence R. equi existed in human isolates before 1994 and reaffirmed that equine‐associated pVAPA‐positive, porcine‐associated pVAPB‐positive and bovine‐ or caprine‐associated pVAPN‐positive R. equi are widely spread globally. This study adds important information that domestic animals are major sources of human infection, thus adversely affecting public health.