Domain Bacteria Order Spirochaetales Genus Borrelia Higher classification Borrelia | Phylum Spirochaetes Family Spirochaetaceae Scientific name Borrelia anserina Rank Species | |
Similar Bacteria, Spirochaetes, Borrelia turicatae, Borrelia hermsii, Argas persicus | ||
Borrelia anserina is a helical spirochete bacterium with dimensions around 8-20/0,2-0,3 µm and with five to eight spirals. Their mobility is very high. B. anserina can be colored with the May Grunwald-Giemsa method.
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Cultivation
In microbiological laboratories, B. anserina bacteria can be grown on special protein-enriched media (rich in ovoalbumins or animal tissue (that contains myoglobin)), in anaerobic conditions. They can also be grown in embrionic chicken eggs. The laboratory cultivation of B. anserina is rarely done and constitutes a diagnostic method in bird borreliosis and spirochetosis. Borrelia anserina solía mantenerse en huevos embrionarios de pollo o por pases en serie en pollos domésticos hasta que en 1986 se descubrió que podía ser cultivada en medio Barbour-Stoenner-Kelly (BSK) lo que facilitó e hizo más costeables las futuras investigaciones.
Pathogenity
B. anserina is a pathogenic agent for poultry (chickens, turkeys, ducks etc.) and causes a disease called borreliosis or spirochetosis. This bacterium is transmitted from bird to bird by ticks from the Argas and Ornitodorus genera. The major symptoms of an infection with B. anserina are: anemia, diarrhea, and severe neurological dysfunctions.