Incidence of listeriosis in farm chinchillas (Chinchilla laniger) in Croatia

Ruža Sabočanec*, Križan Čuljak, Kristijan Ramadan, Tomo Naglić, Branka Šeol, Dražen Matičić

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Listeriosis is an infectious disease of domestic and wild animals caused by Listeria monocytogenes, and is transferable to humans. There are two clinical forms of listeriosis: septicemic and encephalitic. This paper deals with two cases of listeriosis in chinchillas (Chinchilla laniger), originating from a farm in the County of Medimurje in Croatia, and were pathomorphologically and bacteriologically examined. This particular breed consisted of 64 chinchillas, 34 of which have died due to same symptoms. History reveals that animals had suffered loss of appetite, and abortion occurred about 5 days before death. Gross lesions included general anaemia and cachexia. Whitish-grey nodules the size of millet grain or a little larger were noticed along the capsule of liver, serosa of colon and in mesenterial lymph nodes. Numerous variably-sized granulomas in liver, intestines, lymph nodes and kidneys, with no special pattern, were observed histopathologically. They consisted of necrotic cells with somewhat more granulocytes in the centre and scattered individual gigantocytes. Bacteriological examination of liver specimens revealed Listeria monocytogenes in a pure culture in both cases. This is the first description of listeriosis in chinchillas in Croatia.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)159-167
Number of pages9
JournalVeterinarski Arhiv
Volume70
Issue number3
Publication statusPublished - May 2000
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

  • General Veterinary

Keywords

  • Chinchilla laniger
  • Croatia
  • Encephalitic form
  • Listeriosis
  • Septicemic form

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Incidence of listeriosis in farm chinchillas (Chinchilla laniger) in Croatia'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this