Novel Corynebacterium diphtheriae in domestic cats

• Published in: Emerging infectious diseases Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 688 - 691
• Main Authors: Hall, Aron J, Cassiday, Pamela K, Bernard, Kathryn A, Bolt, Frances, Steigerwalt, Arnold G, Bixler, Danae, Pawloski, Lucia C, Whitney, Anne M, Iwaki, Masaaki, Baldwin, Adam, Dowson, Christopher G, Komiya, Takako, Takahashi, Motohide, Hinrikson, Hans P, Tondella, Maria L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States U.S. National Center for Infectious Diseases 01-04-2010; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Subjects: Animals; Animals, Domestic - microbiology; Cat Diseases - microbiology; Cats; Cats - microbiology; Corynebacterium; Corynebacterium diphtheriae - genetics; Corynebacterium diphtheriae - isolation & purification; Diphtheria; Diphtheria - microbiology; Diphtheria - veterinary; diphtheria toxin; Disease transmission; Dispatch; domestic cats; Female; Health aspects; Humans; Phylogeny; rpoB sequencing; West Virginia; zoonoses; West Virginia; United States
• ISSN: 1080-6040; 1080-6059
• DOI: 10.3201/eid1604.091107

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.