Identification and management of an outbreak of Flavobacterium meningosepticum infection in a colony of South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis)

During the summer of 1996, an outbreak of Flavobacterium meningosepticum in fection developed in a colony of South African clawed frogs (Xenopus laevis ). Clinical signs were consistent with septicemia: ascites, anasarca, dyspn ea, extreme lethargy, congestion of web vessels, petechial hemorrhages and sudden death. Mortality rate reached 35%, and all infections were fatal. Th e organism was resistant to most antibiotics but was susceptible to enroflo xacin, chloramphenicol, and trimethoprim-sulfadiazine. Treatment with trimethoprim-sulfadiazine was unsuccessful. Although the poi nt source of the infection was not determined, several environmental reserv oirs were identified, including a communal water barrel and various pieces of equipment. Molecular strain typing by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis a nd biochemical analyses revealed that frogs were infected with a single str ain of F meningosepticum. Sanitation and management procedures were effecti ve in controlling the outbreak.