PERSISTENT, RECURRING DIARRHEA IN A COLONY OF ORANGUTANS (PONGO-PYGMAEUS) CAUSED BY MULTIPLE STRAINS OF CAMPYLOBACTER SPP

A colony of 10 orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) experienced persistent, rec urring diarrhea caused by multiple infections with Campylobacter jejun i and C. coli. Infections appeared to have occurred through several me chanisms, including fecal-oral transmission between orangutans, and po ssibly transmission by house-flies contaminated with the organisms fro m nearby chicken feces. Among the 14 fecal and environmental C. jejuni isolates, 4 different antibiotic susceptibility profiles were detecte d; there were also 4 different profiles among the 8 isolates of C. col i. In 5 orangutans, there were back-to-back infections by different st rains of C. jejuni, suggesting that a single C. jejuni infection may n ot confer protective immunity against heterologous strains circulating in the same vicinity. Transmission was effectively interrupted by env ironmental modifications and a 7-day course of oral erythromycin.