Novel Corynebacterium diphtheriae in Domestic Cats

EID Journal Home > Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010

Volume 16, Number 4–April 2010
Dispatch
Novel Corynebacterium diphtheriae in Domestic Cats
Aron J. Hall, Pamela K. Cassiday, Kathryn A. Bernard, Frances Bolt, Arnold G. Steigerwalt, Danae Bixler, Lucia C. Pawloski, Anne M. Whitney, Masaaki Iwaki, Adam Baldwin, Christopher G. Dowson, Takako Komiya, Motohide Takahashi, Hans P. Hinrikson, and Maria L. Tondella
Author affiliations: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA (A.J. Hall, P.K. Cassiday, A.G. Steigerwalt, L.C. Pawloski, A.M. Whitney, H.P. Henrikson, M.L. Tondella); West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Charleston, West Virginia, USA (A.J. Hall, D. Bixler); Public Health Agency of Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada (K.A. Bernard); University of Warwick, Coventry, UK (F. Bolt, A. Baldwin, C.G. Dowson); and National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan (M. Iwaki, T. Komiya, M. Takahashi)

Suggested citation for this article

Abstract
Novel nontoxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae was isolated from a domestic cat with severe otitis. Contact investigation and carrier study of human and animal contacts yielded 3 additional, identical isolates from cats, although no evidence of zoonotic transmission was identified. Molecular methods distinguished the feline isolates from known C. diphtheriae.

The clinical relevance of Corynebacterium diphtheriae recovered from a cat with otitis is poorly understood. Historically, humans have been thought to be its sole reservoir, and the few human cases reported annually in the United States are generally associated with international travel (1). Therefore, when C. diphtheriae was isolated from the ears of a cat, an investigation was initiated to evaluate potential sources of the cat's infection and potential public health risks and to preliminarily characterize the C. diphtheriae isolate.

The cat, an 8-month-old female domestic shorthair, was examined at a West Virginia veterinary hospital on 5 occasions during January–June 2007. Pertinent findings included severe bilateral otitis, vestibular signs, mild ataxia, anorexia, and failure to gain weight; the cat had a history of ear, eye, and lung infections. Results of diagnostic tests showed no evidence of systemic disease and were negative for feline immunodeficiency and leukemia viruses and feline infectious peritonitis. Culture of an otic swab collected from the cat in May 2007 yielded 4 organisms: C. diphtheriae, Streptococcus equi zooepidemicus, Staphylococcus spp., and Achromobacter xylosoxidans. The cat was treated with oral clindamycin, otic enrofloxacin, and an ear-flushing solution.

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Suggested Citation for this Article
Hall AJ, Cassiday PK, Bernard KA, Bolt F, Steigerwalt AG, Bixler D, et al. Novel Corynebacterium diphtheriae in domestic cats. Emerg Infect Dis [serial on the Internet]. 2010 Apr [date cited]. http://www.cdc.gov/EID/content/16/4/688.htm

DOI: 10.3201/eid1604.091107