Title: Neorickettsia helminthoeca

{{Short description|Species of bacterium}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = 
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| status = 
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| genus = Neorickettsia
| species = helminthoeca
| authority = Philip ''et al''. 1953
| synonyms = * ''Neorickettsia hemintheca'' [''sic''] &lt;small&gt;Philip ''et al''. 1953&lt;/small&gt;
| synonyms_ref = 
}}

'''''Neorickettsia helminthoeca''''' is a bacterium in the ''[[Neorickettsia]]'' genus that causes '''salmon poisoning disease'''.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal|title=''Neorickettsia helminthoeca'' and salmon poisoning disease: a review|first1=Selwyn Arlington|last1=Headley|first2=Diana G.|last2=Scorpio|first3=Odilon|last3=Vidotto|first4=J. Stephen|last4=Dumler|date=1 February 2011|journal=Veterinary Journal |volume=187|issue=2|pages=165–173|doi=10.1016/j.tvjl.2009.11.019|pmid=20044285|s2cid=510481 }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Salmon poisoning disease==
Salmon poisoning disease (SPD) is a fatal disease of [[dog]]s and other [[canidae|canid]]s caused by a [[rickettsial]] bacterium, ''Neorickettsia helminthoeca''.&lt;ref name=Ettinger_1995&gt;{{cite book|author1=Ettinger, Stephen J. |author2=Feldman, Edward C. |title=Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine|edition=4th|publisher=W.B. Saunders Company|year=1995|isbn=978-0-7216-6795-9}}&lt;/ref&gt;  It results from eating raw [[salmon]], [[trout]], or [[salamander]] and is common in the [[Pacific Northwest]].  These fish and amphibians are infected with the [[larva]]e of a [[trematoda|fluke]], ''[[Nanophyetus salmincola]]'' through an [[intermediate host]], the [[snail]] ''[[Juga plicifera]]'' (''Oxytrema'' is an obsolete genus).  The larvae attach to the intestine of the dog and the [[rickettsial]] bacteria are released, causing severe gastrointestinal disease and systemic infection.

''[[Neorickettsia elokominica]]'', carried by the same fluke, causes a similar disease known as Elokomin fluke fever (EFF) in canids, [[bear]]s, [[raccoon]]s, and [[ferret]]s.&lt;ref name=Merck&gt;{{cite web | title = Salmon Poisoning Disease and Elokomin Fluke Fever | work = The Merck Veterinary Manual | date = 2016 | url = http://www.merckvetmanual.com/generalized-conditions/rickettsial-diseases/salmon-poisoning-disease-and-elokomin-fluke-fever | accessdate = 2018-02-22 }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Symptoms==
Symptoms of SPD begin about one week after eating the salmon and include vomiting, diarrhea, loss of appetite, depression, high fever, and enlarged [[lymph node]]s.  Untreated, [[mortality rate|mortality]] reaches 90 percent.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite web | last = Lobetti | first = Remo | title = Infectious Diseases of the GI Tract | work = Proceedings of the 31st World Congress of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association | date = 2006 | url = http://www.ivis.org/proceedings/wsava/2006/lecture16/Lobetti2.pdf?LA=1 | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-03-26 }}&lt;/ref&gt;  Death occurs seven to ten days after symptoms begin.&lt;ref name=Ettinger_1995/&gt;

EFF has less severe symptoms than SPD, with less gastrointestinal signs and more lymph node involvement.  The mortality in untreated cases is about 10 percent.&lt;ref name=&quot;Merck&quot; /&gt;

A similar disease has been identified in [[Brazil]].&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |vauthors=Headley S, Vidotto O, Scorpio D, Dumler J, Mankowski J |title=Suspected cases of Neorickettsia-like organisms in Brazilian dogs |journal=Ann N Y Acad Sci |volume=1026 |issue=1|pages=79–83 |year=2004 |pmid=15604473 |doi=10.1196/annals.1307.010|bibcode=2004NYASA1026...79H |s2cid=22480604 }}&lt;/ref&gt;

==Diagnosis==
Diagnosis is through finding the fluke eggs microscopically in a stool sample.  A [[needle aspiration biopsy]] of an enlarged lymph node will reveal rickettsial organisms within [[macrophage]]s in many cases.&lt;ref&gt;{{cite journal |vauthors=Johns J, Strasser J, Zinkl J, Christopher M |title=Lymph node aspirate from a California wine-country dog |journal=Veterinary Clinical Pathology |volume=35 |issue=2 |pages=243–6 |year=2006 |pmid=16783722 |doi=10.1111/j.1939-165X.2006.tb00123.x }}&lt;/ref&gt;  The rickettsial infection can be successfully treated with [[tetracycline]], and the fluke infection can be treated with [[fenbendazole]].

==References==
{{Reflist}}

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[[Category:Rickettsiales]]
[[Category:Bacteria described in 1953]]
[[Category:Dog diseases]]