A cohort study of Yersinia infection in goats

OBJECTIVE: To determine the temporal pattern of Yersinia infections in three goat flocks and examine the influence of management and seasonal factors on the incidence of those infections over a 1-year period. METHODS: A longitudinal study involving monthly culture of faeces for Yersinia spp. from age groups of randomly selected goats on three farms in the Manawatu region of New Zealand. RESULTS: The incidence of excretion of potentially pathogenic Yersinia (Yersinia pseudotuberculosis and Y enterocolitica biotypes 2, 3 and 5) peaked in winter and fell in summer. In contrast, environmental Yersinia (Y enterocolitica biotype 1A, Y frederiksenii, Y intermedia and Y rohdei) showed no clear pattern of seasonal variation. Pathogenic Yersinia were more prevalent in young animals than in adults, while environmental Yersinia were more prevalent in adults. The same type was isolated from the same animal in two or more successive months in about 20 to 25% of cases, and in the remaining cases there was a gap of at least one month between successive isolations, with many animals yielding a particular type on only a single occasion. A notable difference was that with the potentially pathogenic types, no animal had more than one period of time when it was found to be excreting a particular type, suggesting that immunity develops following exposure. In contrast, it was common for environmental types to be isolated from the same animal throughout the study period. Two goats were suspected to have developed clinical yersiniosis but all remaining infected animals showed no clinical signs of infection. CONCLUSIONS: Asymptomatic Yersinia carriage was common in goats in New Zealand, with a clear seasonal and age group pattern of infection with potentially pathogenic types. There was evidence that immunity developed to potentially pathogenic types. This is the first time that Y rohdei has been isolated from goats.     

Yersinia enterocolitica infection in goat. A serological and bacteriological investigation

The distribution of agglutinating antibodies to Yersinia enterocolitica type 2 in sera from goats in an infected herd, and in 190 other animals from different parts of the country was studied. The faecal excretion of Yersinia enterocolitica from the same animals was also examined. Experimental inoculations of two goats were carried out. The serological results indicate that subclinical cases had occurred in the infected herd during the enzooty and during the following months. Faecal excretion of the organism was observed during the first month after the acute phase of the disease. It was found to be difficult to induce the disease experimentally, but clinical signs were observed in 1 goat after injection of live Yersinia enterocolitica intraperitoneally. The Widal-titre rose to 1/1250 during the first 2 weeks after the inoculation and then fell to 1/80 during the next 2 months. The serological results indicate infections with Yersinia enterocolitica, if a Widal-titre of at least 1/80–1/160 in the first month after the acute phase of a disease and a fall to a low level during the following months are found. Among animals from different partst of the country 16.3 % had a Widal-titre which indicated infection with Yersinia enterocolitica during the previous 3–6 months.     

Enteritis in sheep and goats due to Yersinia enterocolitica infection

Yersinia enterocolitica biotype 5, serotype 02,3 was isolated from the intestine of 38 sheep and 8 goats submitted to the laboratory for disease diagnosis. Infected animals were usually young, had diarrhoea and were in poor condition or emaciated. A number were moribund or dead when submitted. Characteristic microabscesses were demonstrated in the intestine of 5 of 38 sheep and 3 of 8 goats and no alternative cause of morbidity or mortality was established in these animals. Of the 33 sheep and 5 goats infected with Y. enterocolitica in which microabscesses were not demonstrated, a number of other diagnoses were made, including internal parasitism (18), selenium deficiency or white muscle disease (6) and cobalt deficiency (2), so that morbidity and mortality were possibly unrelated to Y. enterocolitica infection. Five of 6 sheep exposed experimentally by mouth to Y. enterocolitica biotype 5, serotype 02,3 developed an intestinal infection. Although infected sheep showed no clinical evidence of disease and haematological and biochemical indices remained normal, multiple intestinal microabscesses typical of yersiniosis were demonstrated in 3 of 5 infected sheep. It is concluded that Y. enterocolitica biotype 5, serotype 02,3 is an enteropathogen of sheep and goats. Since sheep and goats may be the specific hosts of this bacterium, its virulence for these species is apparently low. Morbidity and mortality may, therefore, be unusual manifestations of infection.     

Protostrongylid infection in meat sheep from Northwestern Spain: prevalence and risk factors

2093 Faecal samples from 74 commercial meat ovine flocks were collected and examined by the Baermann-Wetzel method for protostrongylid infection. The risk of being infected by lungworms was evaluated with a data mining classification tree (CHAID), and the intensity of infection with a general linear model (GLM). 242 out of 2093 faecal samples examined were positive for protostrongylid infection (11.6%; 95% CI 10.2-12.9). Only two species were found, Muellerius capillaris (97.9%) and Neostrongylus linearis (5.4%). 50 out of 74 farms presented at least one animal shedding protostrongylid larvae in faeces. All of them held animals infected by M. capillaris and seven presented mixed infections with N. linearis. Average larval output in infected sheep was 11.9 (SD 30.91). This study showed that protostrongylid prevalence in sheep for meat production was determined mainly by a positive interaction with Dictyocaulus filaria infection; other factors that have influenced over protostrongylid infection were age, introducing external animals in the flocks, mixed management with goats and animal density in pastures. Treatment effects on prevalence were only observed in flocks that did not introduce ewes. The lowest protostrongylid prevalence has been reported in flocks without D. filaria infection and without contact with goats.     

Prevalence and economic importance of cystic echinococcosis in slaughtered ruminants in Burdur,Turkey

This study was conducted between April 2000 and March 2001, in 12-month period. During the study, local slaughterhouses were visited periodically for 1 year to examine the internal organs (livers, lungs, spleens and hearts) for the presence of cysts and total 1355 cattle, 218 sheep and 104 goats were examined for the cystic echinococcosis (CE). It was found that 13.5% of cattle, 26.6% of sheep and 22.1% of goats were infected with this disease. While cysts in cattle (P < 0.001) and goats (P > 0.05) were found mostly in lungs (88.5 and 82.6%, respectively), but they were mostly found in livers (P > 0.05) in sheep. In addition to this, three spleens and one heart in cattle were infected with CE. In this study, the prevalence of CE and the number of cysts in ruminants were found different when the cattle, sheep and goats examined were stratified based on age. The prevalence and the number of cysts increased with age approaching an asymptotic prevalence of one in the oldest animals (P < 0.05). The number of cysts in cattle, sheep and goats were increasing at a rate of 0.31, 0.63 and 0.42/year, respectively. The economic decrease in the value of the carcasses because of the discarded liver and lung as a result of CE was estimated as 1.1% (7.5 US dollars per cattle) for cattle, 4.37% (3.2 US dollars per sheep) for sheep and 4.26% (2.9 US dollars per goat) for goats. The minimum total loss for all infected animals was determined to be 583 US dollars in infected animals, based on the market prices in the year 2002.     

Molecular survey of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Toxoplasma</Emphasis> infection in sheep and goat from Fars province,Southern Iran

Toxoplasmosis is a widespread zoonotic disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality in human fetus and in immunocompromised patients. Moreover, it becomes a major cause of abortion in sheep and goats. Since consumption of meat of infected lamb and goat is considered as the main sources of human infection in Iran, this study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of Toxoplasma infection in edible tissues of sheep and goats in Shiraz in 2008. Samples of brain, tongue, liver, and muscles of neck, intercostals, and femoral were taken from 56 sheep and 22 goats and tested by PCR. The total prevalence of Toxoplasma infection among animals was found to be 33.3%. Five out of 22 goats (22.7%) and 21 out of 56 sheep (37.5%) were infected by Toxoplasma. Differences between the prevalence rate of infection among females (nine out of 14 = 46%) and males animals (12 out of 45 = 29.5%) was significant (P = 0.013). Furthermore, a positive correlation was found between the age of animals and the rate of infection; animals greater than 2 years old showed a higher rate of infection (47%) in comparison with those less than 2 years old (25%, P = 0.04). The highest infected tissue was tongue (21.8%) followed by brain (19.2%) and femoral and intercostal muscles (17.9%). This study demonstrated a high level of Toxoplasma infection in slaughtered animals in Shiraz and these should be considered as the main sources of infection for human population in the region.     

Overview of herd and CAEV status in dwarf goats in South Tyrol, Italy

The analysis of the electronic data processing proved that 323 dwarf goats older than 6 months from 165 farms were kept in 63 of the 116 communes of South Tyrol. The number of dwarf goats maintained ranged from 1 to 19 animals, the average farm size revealed to be of 2 dwarf goats/farm. 47 animals were aged between 6 months and 1 year (AG1), 97 were between 1 - 2 years of age (AG2) and 179 were aged older than 2 years (AG3). The mean age amounted to 3.8 years, the age limit being 10 years. 235 animals were female and 88 animals were male (sex ratio 2.7:1). 187 animals (57.9%) were born between November and April and 136 animals (42.1%) were born between May and October. 13 animals (4.0%) proved to possess antibodies against CAEV in a serological examination performed with ELISA. The herd seroprevalence was 6.1% (10 positive farms). The seropositivity did not vary significantly in the different age groups (AG1: 4.3%; AG2: 4.1%; AG3: 3.9%). The seroprevalence of animals born outdoors between November and April (5.9%) did not differ significantly from those born indoors between May and October (1.5%). The seroprevalence of the female animals (3.4%) did not vary significantly from that of the male goats (5.7%). The low seroprevalence ascertained in the dwarf goats in South Tyrol is due to the non-existing milk production, the marginal contact among each other as well as the sparse animal trade. This study should prompt adequate means of control to be established, so that the introduction of positive animals can be prevented. An eradication programme would be advisable, due to the low disease prevalence and its chances to be successfully implemented.     

Occurrence and risk factors of Coxiella burnetii in domestic ruminants in Lebanon

Coxiella burnetii causes diseases in humans (Q fever) and animals, domestic ruminants playing a major role in the epidemiology of the infection. Information on C. burnetii infection in Lebanon is scanty. In order to assess the prevalence of C. burnetii infection in ruminants, a cross-sectional study was undertaken in 2014. A total of 1633 sera from ruminants (865 cattle, 384 sheep and 384 goats) from 429 farms (173 cattle, 128 sheep and 128 goats), in seven provinces of Lebanon were randomly selected and assayed for the presence of antibodies.39.86% of farms (95% CI: 35.23–44.56) resulted positive. The seroprevalence was 30.63% in Cattle-farms, 46.88% in sheep-farms and 45.31% in goat-farms.Milk samples collected from 282 seropositive animals (86 cows, 93 sheep and 103 goats) from 171 positive farms were tested by a high sensitive Real-Time PCR targeted to the IS1111 transposon of C. burnetii. The overall prevalence in farms was estimated to be 14.04%. Cattle-, sheep- and goat farm prevalence rates were 15.09%, 10% and 17.24%, respectively.The findings of the study show that C. burnetii prevalence in Lebanese domestic ruminants is related to animal species and farming practices. Indeed, the mixed herds with sheep (p < 0.01), the presence of common lambing/kidding areas (p < 0.001) in farms where the use of disinfectants was not a routine practice (p < 0.05) were identified as important risk factors.The results of the study provide baseline information for setting up herd management and public health measures for the prevention and control of Q fever in Lebanon.     

Prevalence of Yersinia enterocolitica in goat herds from Northern Germany

The prevalence of human pathogenic Yersinia enterocolitica isolates in livestock farming is of paramount interest. Raw goat milk has been proposed as a source of human yersiniosis; however, no data on the prevalence of human strains of Y. enterocolitica in goat herds are available. Therefore, fecal samples (n = 575) were collected from 24 goat herds from Lower Saxony, northern Germany. Pre-enrichment in peptone, sorbitol and bile salts broth was followed by plating on cefsuloidin irgasan novobiocin agar. Yersinia enterocolitica was isolated from 17 (3%) samples of five (21%) goat herds. All isolates were biovar 1A, but represented various serovars. PCR assays targeting Yersinia adhesin (yad) gene and the yopT gene, both associated with pathogenicity, produced no amplification products. Therefore, the isolates can be regarded as opportunistic apathogenic bacteria. Consequently, milk, cheese or meat from goats should not be considered as an important source for human yersiniosis.     

Experimental mixed infection of rabbits with Yersinia enterocolitica and Listeria monocytogenes

Experimental mixed infection was reproduced in rabbits after per os infection with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 0:3 cells. Four days later some of animals were re-infected orally with Listeria monocytogenes serotype 4b cells. A third group of healthy rabbits was also infected per os with Listeria monocytogenes. The infectious process was followed dynamically from days 1-28. The experimental animals were examined for clinical, paraclinical and morphological findings. Augmentation of body temperature and alveolar macrophage number, a decreased number of peritoneal macrophages, leucopenia as well as purulent meningoencephalitis, catarrhal pneumonia, lienitis, lymphadenitis and enteritis were detected after experimental mixed infection. Both types of macrophages demonstrated a weak bactericidal activity against Yersinia enterocolitica and a highly expressed killing effect against Listeria monocytogenes. Yersinia and Listeria cells were isolated from the viscera and brain. Both species of bacteria were established intracellularly in the macrophages by electron-microscopic examination. The data received showed that mixed Yersinia enterocolitica 0:3 and Listeria monocytogenes 4b infection of rabbits runs with transitory hyperthermia as a generalized infection and is similar to the Listeria mono-infection. The immunosuppressive effect induced by oral Yersinia enterocolitica infection of rabbits promotes the expression of listerious agents.     

Studies on the relationship between Yersinia enterocolitica IX and Brucella abortus agglutinins in naturally infected animals

Attempts were made to define the Brucella abortus and Yersinia enterocolitica IX infection status of animal populations by means of selected agglutination tests. The Brucella abortus O, the Yersinia enterocolitica IX OH and the Y enterocolitica IX H agglutinin titres were measured in a large number of cattle, goat and pig sera In the goats and, to a much lesser extent, the pigs, the relationships between these titres suggested that Yersinia infection was common. In contrast, the results from the cattle sera were complex and tended to indicate the presence of both Yersinia infection and brucellosis.     

Differentiation of Brucella abortus and Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 09 infections in cattle: the use of specific lymphocyte transformation and brucellin skin tests

The lymphocyte transformation test (using an in vitro whole-blood lymphocyte stimulation procedure) and the Brucellin skin test were applied to five heifers infected with virulent Brucella abortus strain 544, five cows inoculated with Yersinia enterocolitica serotype 09, and four non-exposed cows. Lymphocytes from Brucella-inoculated animals persistently gave very high blastogenic reactions indicative of active Brucella infection. The test was persistently negative in Yersinia-infected and non-exposed cattle. Four of the five cows infected with Yersinia enterocolitica type 09 and all four control cattle were persistently negative to the delayed hypersensitivity skin reaction with brucellin. All cattle infected with Yersinia enterocolitica type 09 were strongly positive to the Rose Bengal, Serum agglutination, Complement fixation and Antibovine globulin tests using Brucella abortus antigens. One lactating cow infected with Yersinia enterocolitica type 09 was positive to Brucella milk ring test. These results indicate that standard Brucella serological tests are unreliable in differentiating the two infections in cattle and that both the Lymphocyte transformation and brucellin skin tests could be used to differentiate bovine brucellosis from yersiniosis.     

Prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection among animals in Algeria: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Toxoplasma gondii is a zoonotic parasite that can infect all warm-blooded animals. It is responsible for considerable economic losses in some regions and farming systems. This review aims to synthesize current findings on the prevalence and risk factors associated with T. gondii infection in animal species in Algeria. It was performed according to the recommendations of the PRISMA guideline. A total of 14 papers from 1955 to 2020 were eligible to be included in this systematic review and meta-analysis study including a number of 10,187 animals of which 2594 were positive cases (25.46 %) (24.62–26.31 %, 95 %CI). Prevalence of Toxoplasma-infection was 20.04 % in cattle, 22.57 % in sheep, 33.61 % in goats, 28.17 % in horses, 30 % in donkeys, 70.31 % in stray cats, 14.57 % in local rabbits, 30.47 % in dogs and 50.70 % in poultry farms. Adult animals and females were most infected. The highest prevalences were reported in stray cats and poultry. Rabbits were the least infected. This analysis showed a trend of increasing infection since 2015 (R² = 0.129, p > 0.05) which requires further studies to provide better prevention strategies.     

Prevalence of Bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV) antibodies among sheep and goats in India

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of pestivirus antibodies in sheep and goats in India. A total of 2803 serum samples collected between 2004 and 2008 from 1777 sheep in 92 flocks and 1026 goats in 63 flocks belonging to 13 states were tested by competition ELISA for detection of pestivirus antibodies. In sheep, the true prevalence rate was 23.4% (95% confidence interval: 22.9%–27.0%) and in goats it was 16.9% (95% CI: 16.4%–21.3%). The flock level seroprevalence was 66.3% for sheep and 54.0% for goats. Geographical variation in individual and flock prevalence was highly significant. A significant association (p?<?0.05) was found between sheep and goat flocks having cattle contact and the flock level seroprevalence. The seroprevalence was lower in 6 months–1 year age group compared to the 1–2 year and >2 year age groups in both sheep and goats. Cross neutralization studies on 61 seropositive sheep and 34 seropositive goat samples representing all positive flocks, exhibited > four fold higher titre to bovine viral diarrhoea virus type 1 (BVDV-1) in 41 sheep and 23 goat samples and to BVDV-2 in one sheep and goat each. This study for the first time showed serological evidence of wide spread BVDV infections in Indian sheep and goats, with BVDV-1 predominating and BVDV-2 occasionally besides highlighting the potential risk of infection to other species, which needs to be considered whenever BVD control measures are initiated.     

Prevalence and Economic Importance of Cystic Echinococcosis in Slaughtered Ruminants in Burdur,Turkey1

This study was conducted between April 2000 and March 2001, in 12‐month period. During the study, local slaughterhouses were visited periodically for 1 year to examine the internal organs (livers, lungs, spleens and hearts) for the presence of cysts and total 1355 cattle, 218 sheep and 104 goats were examined for the cystic echinococcosis (CE). It was found that 13.5% of cattle, 26.6% of sheep and 22.1% of goats were infected with this disease. While cysts in cattle (P < 0.001) and goats (P > 0.05) were found mostly in lungs (88.5 and 82.6%, respectively), but they were mostly found in livers (P > 0.05) in sheep. In addition to this, three spleens and one heart in cattle were infected with CE. In this study, the prevalence of CE and the number of cysts in ruminants were found different when the cattle, sheep and goats examined were stratified based on age. The prevalence and the number of cysts increased with age approaching an asymptotic prevalence of one in the oldest animals (P < 0.05). The number of cysts in cattle, sheep and goats were increasing at a rate of 0.31, 0.63 and 0.42/year, respectively. The economic decrease in the value of the carcasses because of the discarded liver and lung as a result of CE was estimated as 1.1% ($7.5 per cattle) for cattle, 4.37% ($3.2 per sheep) for sheep and 4.26% ($2.9 per goat) for goats. The minimum total loss for all infected animals was determined to be $583 in infected animals, based on the market prices in the year 2002.     

Seroprevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in Norwegian dairy goats

Background

Toxoplasma gondii is a major problem for the sheep industry as it may cause reproduction problems. The importance of T. gondii in Norwegian goat herds is uncertain, but outbreaks of toxoplasmosis in dairy goat farms have been recorded. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of T. gondii infection in Norwegian dairy goats by using serology.

Findings

Goat serum originally collected as part of two nationwide surveillance and control programmes between 2002 and 2008 were examined for T. gondii antibodies by using direct agglutination test. In total, 55 of 73 herds (75%) had one or more serologically positive animals, while 377 of 2188 (17%) of the individual samples tested positive for T. gondii antibodies.

Conclusions

This is the first prevalence study of T. gondii infection in Norwegian goats. The results show that Norwegian goat herds are commonly exposed to T. gondii. Nevertheless, the majority of goat herds have a low prevalence of antibody positive animals, which make them vulnerable to infections with T. gondii during the gestation period.     

The association of sub-clinical paratuberculosis with the fertility of Greek dairy ewes and goats varies with parity

Our cross-sectional study investigated the association of sub-clinical Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis (MAP) infection with failing to produce a live offspring the season of lambing/kidding (November 2001 to January 2002) before testing (in April-May 2002), in four dairy-sheep and/or goat flocks in Greece (369 animals >or=1.5-year-old). From each selected animal 10 ml of blood and 10 g of feces from the rectum were obtained. The harvested sera were tested for antibodies to MAP with a commercial ELISA test kit; the feces were cultured on Herrold's egg-yolk medium supplemented with mycobactin J and antibiotics. An animal was considered sub-clinically infected when found either seropositive or culture positive. The true prevalence of sub-clinically infected animals, adjusted for the sensitivity and specificity of the parallel testing, was 14% (0.1-28%) and 35.9% (9.2-62.7%) in sheep and goats, respectively. The association of fertility of sheep and goats with sub-clinical paratuberculosis was investigated in random-effects logistic models. Sub-clinically infected animals (compared to uninfected) had OR for live offspring the previous year of 5.4 for parity <4, OR=0.05 for parity >6, and a non-significant OR for the middle parity category.     

2011年中国家畜血吸虫病疫情状况

本文通报了2011年中国家畜血吸虫病疫情状况。湖南省、湖北省、江西省、安徽省、江苏省、四川省、云南省7个流行省共对784679头牛、41110只羊以及30005头（匹）其他家畜进行了检测,阳性率分别为O．88％、0．95％和0．09％。根据各省放牧家畜数和阳性率推算,全国共有病畜10894头（只、匹）,比2010年下降了27．28％,其中病牛为8433头,比2010年下降了33．71％。从病畜的地域分布看,湖南省、江西省两省病畜数占全国病畜数的62．06％,两省合计病牛数占全国病牛数的67．21％。调查结果显示,2011年家畜血吸虫病疫情与2010年相比继续下降。洞庭湖和鄱阳湖地区是今后家畜血吸虫病疫情控制的难点和重点。     

Epidemiological study of Yersinia enterocolitica in swine herds in Québec

The objectives of this study were the identification of the different contamination sources of Yersinia enterocolitica, as well as the determination of the prevalence and the distribution of the different genotypes in swine herds. The owners of 20 farms, located in the Richelieu-Yamaska region, agreed to participate in the study. Each farm was visited a minimum of 5 times between May and October 1997, and, at each visit, 20 environmental and 10 fecal samples were collected. Yersinia enterocolitica isolates were identified, serotyped, and submitted to a genetic characterization by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. The correlation coefficient (0.61) between prevalence in environment and in feces was significant (P = 0.004). Among the 153 positive samples, 93.5% belonged to serotype 0:3. The comparison of PFGE profiles revealed that all environmental Y. enterocolitica isolates had a profile identical to that of isolates recovered in feces from the corresponding farms. Also, when the genetic profiles of isolates recovered from feces collected at the first visit were compared with the profiles of isolates obtained from the subsequent visits, the same profile was observed on every farm. We concluded that environment does not represent the main source of contamination of swine by Y. enterocolitica and that, in most instances, the same strain persists in a barn from one production lot to another.