9 Feb 2021
“The significance of our finding is unknown at this time, but we feel Vet Times readers should be aware of the emergence of this bacterial species in dogs...” – Carole Hughes, Petbiome.
James Westgate
Job Title
A group of vets has issued an alert about the emergence of a new bacterial species in dogs.
For several years Petbiome has been using genomic techniques to analyse faecal samples to determine the microbiome content, and in December 2020, the novel bacterial species Prevotellamassilia timonensis was identified in the microbiome of dogs with gastritis.
It is now believed that, despite its recent emergence, P timonensis may constitute 12% to 30% of the microbiome in affected dogs.
P timonensis was first described in humans in 2016 (Ndongo et al, 2016) and has subsequently been associated with the COVID-19 pandemic (Chakraborty, 2020a; 2020b).
The organism has been linked to immune suppression and high interleukin-1 levels (Larsen, 2017).
Carole Hughes worked alongside RCVS specialist in veterinary clinical nutrition (small animal) Mike Davies on the work.
She said: “The significance of our finding is unknown at this time, but we feel Vet Times readers should be aware of the emergence of this bacterial species in dogs with gastritis, and we are keen to hear from anyone who may have experience of this organism and its pathogenic effects in dogs or other species.”
