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CASE REPORT article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Experimental and Diagnostic Pathology
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1407634

Case Report: Pathology, Antimicrobial Resistance, and Molecular Characterization of Bovine Abortion Cases Caused by Nocardia farcinica in Korean Native Cattle

Provisionally accepted
Eun-Mi Kim Eun-Mi Kim Chi Sub YUN Chi Sub YUN JONGHO KIM JONGHO KIM *You-Chan Bae You-Chan Bae Hyunkyoung Lee Hyunkyoung Lee Bo-Youn Moon Bo-Youn Moon Kichan Lee Kichan Lee Hye-Young Jeoung Hye-Young Jeoung Bok-Kyung Ku Bok-Kyung Ku
  • Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gyeongsangbuk, Republic of Korea

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Introduction: Nocardia farcinica is an opportunistic bacterium that causes bovine mastitis and pulmonary, cutaneous, and central nervous system infections in humans. Bovine abortion caused by N. farcinica has been sporadically reported. The purpose of this study was to analyze the pathological findings of bovine abortions caused by N. farcinica in the Republic of Korea and determine the antimicrobial resistance and genotypical characteristics of N. farcinica isolates.Case presentation: Three cases of bovine abortions were submitted to the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency for differential diagnosis. Grossly, one fetus showed severe lung consolidation following palpation of the entire lobes. Histologically, necrotizing granulomatous interstitial pneumonia was observed in all fetuses; a fetus with a gross lesion demonstrated necrotizing lymphadenitis in the mesenteric lymph nodes and necrotizing dermatitis in the ear. N. farcinica isolates were isolated from the abomasal contents and lungs of all fetuses. Finally, two cases were diagnosed as abortions due to N. farcinica, and one was diagnosed as an N. farcinica abortion coinfected with bovine viral diarrhea virus. According to the multilocus sequence analysis, all isolates were identified as N. farcinica and were determined to be genetically related to isolates from humans. Two N. farcinica isolates were resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, which is recommended as the first treatment for human nocardial infections. Conclusion: This is the first pathological report of bovine abortion caused by N. farcinica in the Republic of Korea. Further studies are needed to phenotypically and genotypically characterize N. farcinica isolates with various sources and continuously monitor antimicrobial resistance patterns. * NT, Not determined ** Except for Bov-fet-2 MIC, minimal inhibitory concentration

    Keywords: Abortion, antimicrobial resistance, bovine, Multilocus sequence analysis, Nocardia farcinica

    Received: 27 Mar 2024; Accepted: 30 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Kim, YUN, KIM, Bae, Lee, Moon, Lee, Jeoung and Ku. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: JONGHO KIM, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency, Gyeongsangbuk, Republic of Korea

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