Brachyspira

Brachyspira
Scientific classification
Domain:	Bacteria
Kingdom:	Pseudomonadati
Phylum:	Spirochaetota
Class:	Spirochaetia
Order:	Brachyspirales
Family:	Brachyspiraceae
Genus:	Brachyspira; Hovind-Hougen et al. 1983 non Foliella non Pfeiffer 1855
Type species
	Brachyspira aalborgi; Hovind-Hougen et al. 1983
Species
	See text.
Synonyms
	"Anguillina" Lee et al. 1993 non Cossmann 1912 non Hammerschmidt 1839; Serpula Stanton et al. 1991 non (Persson 1801) Gray 1821 non Linnaeus 1758 non Coy 1862; Serpulina Stanton 1992 non Zborzevski 1834;

Brachyspira is a genus of bacteria classified within the phylum Spirochaetota.

Brachyspira species include pathogens in pigs, birds, dogs, and humans.

B. pilosicoli colonizes millions of humans worldwide, leading to human intestinal spirochaetosis, a chronic, intermittent watery diarrhea vastly underdiagnosed because of the lack of a simple diagnostic tool for clinicians. Multiplex qPCRs are promising diagnostic tools, as Brachyspira do not grow on conventional media.

B. pilosicoli also cause avian spirochetosis: birds might be considered as the natural reservoir.

B. hyodysenteriae leads to diarrheal disease in growing pigs worldwide, causing the so-called swine dysentery, typhlocolitis or porcine intestinal spirochaetosis, which contributes to major "production losses" in agrobusiness.

Some species like B. innocens or B. intermedia seem to be less virulent.