Isolation of Chlamydia spp. from Ewes and Does in Iran

Enzootic ovine abortion is caused by Chlamydia abortus and may result in abortion among small ruminants during the last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy. Enzootic abortion is diagnosed by isolation of the agent or detection of its nucleic acid in the products of abortion or vaginal excretions of freshly aborted females. Isolation of chlamydial agents in cell culture is the gold standard, so in the present study this method was employed. Twenty-eight vaginal and conjunctival swab samples were selected from ewes and does that had recently aborted. The samples were inoculated to McCoy cells. The inoculated cells were fixed, stained by Giemsa staining, and mounted on slides. Finally, the slides were observed by an optical microscope for the presence chlamydial inclusion bodies. Chlamydia was isolated from four conjunctival and three vaginal samples. All the negative cultures were passaged a further two times. Cell culture was identified as the most convenient method for the isolation of Chlamydia and remains essential to document the viability of the organism. Isolation of Chlamydia in the present study, highlights the importance of paying more attention to the bacterium as one of the main abortifacient pathogens along with other infectious causes of abortion.