Characterization of Bordetella Bronchiseptica Isolated from Rabbits in Fujian, China

Background Bordetella bronchiseptica can infect many animal species, and is a potential zoonotic pathogen that can also infect humans. In rabbits, infection of B. bronchiseptica is associated with respiratory disease, which causes economic losses to the rabbit farming. Fujian Province is a traditional importance rabbit farming area in China. However, no literature about the epidemiology and characteristics of B. bronchiseptica in rabbits in Fujian Province has been reported.Results A total of 219 B. bronchiseptica isolates were recovered from the 833 lung samples of dead rabbits with respiratory disease. The 219 isolates were typed into 11 sequence types (STs) including 5 known STs (ST6, ST10, ST12, ST14 and ST33) and 6 new STs (ST88, ST89, ST90, ST91, ST92 and ST93) by using multi-locus sequence typing (MLST). Surprisingly, all the 219 isolates carried the 5 virulence genes of fhaB, prn, cyaA, dnt and bteA in the PCR screening. Moreover, the isolates resistance to cefixime, ceftizoxime, cefatriaxone and ampicillin were detected, and the resistance rates to the 4 kinds of drug were 33.33, 31.05, 11.87 and 3.20%, respectively.Conclusions In the present study, we showed for the first time that B. bronchiseptica is widespread in rabbits in Fujian Province, and that B. bronchiseptica is an important pathogen associating with respiratory disease in rabbits in Fujian Province. Moreover, it should be alert to the potential occurrence of transmission events between rabbits and humans because the B. bronchiseptica strain of ST12 that can infect humans were also isolated from rabbits in Fujian Province.