Re-examination of Virulence of Rhodococcus equi Isolates from an Infected Goat and Its Environmental Soil in Okinawa Reported in 2015

Abstract

Rhodococcus equi isolates from an infected Boa goat in Okinawa reported in 2015 (J. Jpn. Vet. Med. Assoc., 68, 751‐755, 2015) were re-examined with PCR for virulence-associated protein antigen N gene (vapN ), which was recently found in bovine isolates in the U.K., and granulomatous lesions on the organs in the cattle were similar to those in the goat. VapN was detected in all 32 isolates from the organs of the goat, and they possessed a novel linear virulence plasmid. Ten (34.5%) of 29 environmental isolates from soil on the goat farm were vapN -positive. These results revealed that the goat was infected by vapN -positive R. equi, not avirulent as previously reported.