Septic Arthritis and Osteomyelitis Caused by Chryseobacterium indologenes in a Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) and a Ring-Billed Gull (Larus delawarensis).

A 20-year-old female mute swan (Cygnus olor) originally in a flock of free-living swans on a Long Island, New York, lake, was presented for facial swelling and decreased appetite. An adult male ring-billed gull (Larus delawarensis) was also presented to the same wildlife rescue center for bilateral lameness of 1-week duration. Once referred for veterinary evaluation and care, both species were diagnosed with septic arthritis and osteomyelitis caused by Chryseobacterium indologenes and treated with orbifloxacin until complete recovery. Chryseobacterium indologenes is infrequently diagnosed as an opportunistic pathogen in human medicine, and less so in veterinary medicine. In human patients, this bacterium is the cause of various infections, including meningitis, pneumonia, and implant failure. However, in veterinary medicine its pathogenicity has only been reported in fish, and sporadically mentioned as a culture result in tree frogs and turtles, where it was generally considered insignificant. In this report a clinical presentation, diagnosis, treatment, and outcome of osteomyelitis and septic arthritis caused by C indologenes is described in 1 anseriforme and in 1 charadriiforme species.