Brucellosis 2003 proceedings - PHIDIAS

Poster Session
The vaccine strains differed from the recognized pattern in one or more
characteristics. These strains were atypical regarding their growing on fuchsin and
thionin at recommended concentrations, the other strains gave suitable results for the
Brucella genus. In the phage sensitivity Rev 1 strains were found to be lysed for all
phages for the other hand reference strains of B. melitensis were lysed only by Iz
phage.
101- THE INOCULATION OF MICE WITH VIRULENT OR ATTENUATED Brucellae
OR SMOOTH LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE DOES NOT MODIFY THE COURSE OF
SPLENIC INFECTIONS BY HOMOLOGOUS OR HETEROLOGOUS Brucella SPP.
Grilló M. J. 1 , M. J. de Miguel 1 , P. M. Muñoz 1 , C. M. Marín 1 , M. Barberán 2 , J. M. Blasco 1 . (1) Unidad de
Sanidad Animal, Servicio de Investigación Agroalimentaria, Gobierno de Aragón, Zaragoza, Spain. (2)
Departamento de Patología Animal, Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, Spain.
It has been suggested that vaccination and immunotherapy have a therapeutic
effect in brucellosis because these treatments reestimulate macrophages to resolve
the infection, thus minimizing the clinical impact of disease. However, it has been
reported that treatment with a subcellular fraction of S19 does not modify the course
of B. abortus 544 chronically infected mice (Plommet et al 1982. Ann Rech Vet, 13 :
127-132.), and that the infection caused by smooth attenuated strains B. abortus S19
(Plommet and Plommet 1988. Ann Rech Vét, 19: 245-251) or B. melitensis Rev 1 (N.
Bosseray, personal communication) can be reactivated after inoculating homologous
virulent strains. To study whether such a therapeutic effect could be observed
depending on the virulence of the strains involved, BALB/C mice infected with
virulent B. abortus 2308 were inoculated with virulent B. abortus 544, attenuated B.
abortus S19 or smooth lipopolysaccharide at day 4 (acute phase) or week 4 (chronic
phase) post infection. None of these treatments modified the splenic 2308 CFU
levels during the acute or the chronic phases of the infection. Similarly, the time
course of infections by rough virulent B. ovis PA, virulent B. melitensis H38 or
attenuated B. melitensis Rev 1 were not modified by inoculation with virulent B.
abortus 544. It is concluded that no matter the virulence and surface characteristics
of the strain inducing the primary infection, the course of brucellosis in BALB/c mice
is not modified by a second infection with homologous, heterologous, virulent or
attenuated brucellae or by inoculation with smooth lipopolysaccharide.
102- TAXONOMY AND NOMENCLATURE OF THE MEMBERS OF GENUS
Brucella; A PROPOSED RE-EVALUATION OF THE TAXONOMIC RANK OF
RESPECTIVE MEMBERS.
B. S. Osterman. Dept Clinical Microbiology, Karolinska Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
Since the discoveries of the six nomenspecies of genus Brucella respectively,
from the discovery by David Bruce of the ”Micrococcus of Malta fever” in 1887 and
the creation of the Brucella genus by Meyer and Shaw in 1920, there has been a
continuous debate on the relevance of looking upon this genus as being multispecific
or monospecific. At the meeting of the Subcommittee on Taxonomy of Brucella in
Manchester in 1986, a decision on genus Brucella as a monospecific genus was
taken, based on results of genetic analysis methods and related criteria for species
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