Abscesses associated with a Brucella inopinata-like bacterium in a big-eyed tree frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus)

A 4-yr-old big-eyed tree frog (Leptopelis vermiculatus) was submitted with two pea-sized (4-mm diameter), firm, and painful masses on the right side of its back. The two abscess-like masses were surgically opened, and a whitish-yellow pasty content was removed. A Brucella inopinata-like bacterium was obtained in pure culture and was resistant against ampicillin and tylosin but sensitive to the 8 other antibiotics tested. The organism was identified by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal ribonucleic acid (acc. no. HE608873) and recA (acc. no. HE608874) genes after preliminary misidentification as Ochrobactrum anthropi when using a commercial identification system. To the authors' knowledge, a B. inopinata-like bacterium has not been reported previously in amphibians. The organism is a potential human pathogen and may present a risk for people handling amphibians.