Diagnosis, treatment, public health significance

DIAGNOSIS, TREATMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE
  • Diamond shaped skin lesions are pathognomonic.

Specimens to be collected

  • It includes liver, spleen, heart valves or synovial tissues.
  • Organisms are rarely recovered from skin lesions or chronically affected joints.

Diagnosis can be achieved by

  • Gram-positive rods in acute cases and Gram-positive filaments in chronic cases.
  • Based on cultural characters and biochemical tests.
    * Serological tests are not applicable for diagnosis.

Treatment

  • In addition to hyper immune serum, treatment with antibiotics such as penicillin and tetracyclines are effective.

Public health significance

  • Workers engaged in the fish and poultry industries are highly susceptible.
  • The organism enters through minor skin abrasions causing localized cellulitis referred as erysipeloid.

 
Last modified: Monday, 4 June 2012, 7:01 AM