02338nas a2200265   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002260007000043653003200113653001000145653001200155653002400167653001800191653001700209653003600226100001200262700001300274700001000287700001600297700001200313245009600325490000800421520162900429022001402058       2018                            d  c06/2018bSchlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KGaHannover10aporcine abscessed pneumonia10ahorse10ahamster10aPersian fallow deer10aco-infections10aMALDI-TOF MS10abacteriological differentiation1 aS Stalb1 aE Hiller1 aJ Rau1 aT Eisenberg1 aR Sting00aPathological significance of Helcococcus ovis and Helcococcus kunzii in veterinary medicine0 v1313 aHelcococcus (H.) ovis and H. kunzii have rarely been described as veterinary pathogens. This is the first report of the isolation of H. ovis in pure culture from a lung of a piglet suffering from severe abscessed pneumonia, which prompted us to clarify the pathological significance of helcococci in animals. In total, 144 H. ovis and eight H. kunzii strains were isolated from clinical specimens or from organs during post mortem examinations from 2010 to 2017. Suspicious colonies were verified by MALDI-TOF MS and/or by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Additionally, selected isolates were compared phenotypically using FT-IR spectroscopy and biochemistry using VITEK2-compact®, but neither method allowed discrimination of the helcococci isolates. In decreasing order of frequency, H. ovis was recovered from cattle, sheep, pigs and one horse. H. kunzii was isolated for the first time in a hamster and a Persian fallow deer. H. ovis isolates often originated from lungs, independent of the animal species and from reproductive organs of cattle. In the majority of cases, H. ovis was recovered together with Trueperella pyogenes and Fusobacterium necrophorum and in sheep additionally with Mannheimia haemolytica. In conclusion, helcococci can affect different organ systems in a broad range of hosts. According to its principal target sites, H. ovis has pathogenic potential in respiratory disease in different animal species, as well as for reproductive disorders in cattle. In this context and with its frequent recovery from mixed culture, particular care must be taken to detect helcococci in animal diagnostic specimens.  a0005-9366