Introduction

Classification

Taxonomy

• Family: Enterobacteriaceae.
• Genus: Proteus.

Etymology

• Gk: Proteus - an ocean god able to change himself into different shapes.
• Lat: mirabilis - wonderful; vulgaris - common.

Active Forms

Clinical Effects

Epidemiology

Habitat

• Part of normal flora of gastrointestinal and urogenital tracts, and skin.

Lifecycle

• Multiplies by binary fission.
• May undergo conjugation with other Enterobacteriaceae, with transfer of plasmids.

Transmission

• Endogenous or exogenous infections.

Pathological effects

• Compromise of immune system → opportunistic infections.

• Trauma → opportunistic infection → pathogenic.

Diseases

• Urinary tract infection Cystitis - dogs, cats and horses. Also found in urine of healthy horses.
• Infections of genital tract, eg epididymitis Orchitis / epididymitis - horses.
• Otitis externa Skin: otitis externa - dogs and cats, often as a component of mixed infections.
• Occasionally isolated from cases of respiratory tract disease - horses.
• More common in foals.

Other Host Effects

• Part of normal gastrointestinal flora.
• Part of normal skin flora in some dogs and cats.
• Part of normal flora of urogenital tract in some horses.

Control

Control via chemotherapies

Susceptibility

• To a range of antibiotics, including beta-lactams, potentiated sulfonamides and cephalosporins.
• Equine isolates more typically susceptible to amikacin Amikacin than gentamicin Gentamicin.

Resistance

• A problem, as with all enterobacteria.

Vaccination

• None.

Diagnosis

Further Reading

Publications

Refereed papers

• Recent references from PubMed and VetMedResource.
• Kiss G, Radványi S & Szigeti G (1997) New combination for the therapy of canine otitis externa I. Microbiology of otitis externa. JSAP 38 (2), 51-56 PubMed.
• Gaastra W, van Oosterom R A, Pieters E W et al (1996) Isolation and characterisation of dog uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis strains. Vet Microbiol 48 (1-2), 57-71 PubMed.
• Bijlsma I G, van Dijk L, Kusters J G et al (1995) Nucleotide sequences of two fimbrial major subunit genes, pmpA and ucaA, from canine-uropathogenic Proteus mirabilis strains. Microbiol 141 (Pt 6), 1349-1357 PubMed.