What is Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae?

Abstract

　Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a rod-shaped, gram-positive intracellular pathogen that can cause erysipelas in a variety of vertebrates, including humans, livestock, wild mammals (both marine and terrestrial), and birds. In wild mammals, the mode of infection by the organism is unclear; however, most of apparently healthy domesticated pigs carry the organism in their tonsils and other lymphoid tissues, and the organism can multiply and spread, and causes the disease when host defenses are compromised. I hereby would like to explain new findings revealed by genome analyses and the pathogenicity of E. rhusiopathiae and host defense mechanisms.