Companion Animal Faecal Microbiology

A number of bacterial pathogens are implicated as causes of diarrhoea in companion animals including:
  • Salmonella sp.
  • Clostridium difficile
  • Clostridium perfringens
  • Salmonella sp
  • Yersinia sp
Detection of Campylobacter sp and Yersinia sp is done via direct culture on selective agar while detection of Salmonella is one via enrichment culture and the use of selective agars. Clostridium perfringens and Clostridium difficile are anaerobic bacteria which may be found in the environment and in the intestinal tract of some healthy animals. As these bacteria can be found in the faeces of healthy animals, bacterial culture alone is not diagnostic and detection of the toxins associated with the disease is required.