An unusual form of canine babesiosis

An Akita Inu, living in Belgium, was presented with unusual clinical manifestations of acute babesiosis that included neurological signs and pancytopenia. Diagnosis was made by identifying Babesia canis in the blood smear. Neurological signs resolved after treatment with imidocarb diproprionate. Normalization of hematological abnormalities was gradual over 5 months.     

Vaccination against the feline immunodeficiency virus: the road not taken

Natural infection of domestic cats by the feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). FIV is genetically related to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and the clinical and biological features of infections caused by feline and human viruses in their respective hosts are highly analogous. Although the obstacles to vaccinating against FIV and HIV would seem to be of comparable difficulty, a licensed vaccine against feline AIDS is already in widespread use in several countries. While this seemingly major advance in prevention of AIDS would appear to be highly instructive for HIV vaccine development, its message has not been heeded by investigators in the HIV field. This review endeavours to relate what has been learned about vaccination against feline AIDS, and to suggest what this may mean for HIV vaccine development.     

Dogs as carriers of the emerging pathogen Arcobacter

Dogs and cats living in a household have previously been identified as a risk factor for human infection with Campylobacter and Helicobacter. In this study, carried out between July 2006 to September 2007, feces and oral swabs from 267 dogs and 61 cats were examined for the presence of the emerging pathogen Arcobacter. Isolates, obtained by an Arcobacter selective isolation procedure, were identified with an Arcobacter species-specific multiplex-PCR and characterized by modified enterobacterial repetitive intergenic concensus PCR. No arcobacters were isolated from cats. Five dogs excreted arcobacters in the feces and two other dogs carried arcobacters in the mouth. In the follow-up, one dog excreted the same Arcobacter butzleri strain for at least 1 week. Six dogs carried each an unique A. cryaerophilus strain although three of them lived in the same family. Therefore, beside the consumption of food and water, contact with dogs is another potential source of Arcobacter infection.     

Scale-dependent determinants of heterogeneity in fire frequency in a coniferous boreal forest of eastern Canada

Despite the recognized importance of fire in North American boreal forests, the relative importance of stochastic and determinist portions of intra-regional spatial variability in fire frequency is still poorly understood. The first objective of this study is to identify sources of spatial variability in fire frequency in a landscape of eastern Quebec’s coniferous boreal forest. Broad-scale environmental factors considered included latitude, longitude, human activities and belonging to a given bioclimatic domain, whereas fine-scale factors included slope, position on the slope, aspect, elevation, surficial deposit and drainage. The average distance to waterbodies was also considered as a potential intermediate-scale source of variability in fire frequency. In order to assess these environmental factors’ potential influence, they were incorporated into a proportional hazard model, a semi-parametric form of survival analysis. We also used a digital elevation model in order to evaluate the dominant aspect within neighborhoods of varying sizes and successively incorporated these covariates into the proportional hazard model. We found that longitude significantly affects fire frequency, suggesting a maritime influence on fire frequency in this coastal landscape. We also found that position on the slope was related to fire frequency since hilltops and upperslopes were subject to a lower fire frequency. Dominant aspect was also related to fire frequency, but only when characterized within a neighborhood delimited by 4,000 to 10,000-m radii (5,027–31,416 ha). A 2–6-fold variation in fire frequency can be induced by geographic and topographic contexts, suggesting a substantial intra-regional heterogeneity in disturbance regime with potential consequences on forest dynamics and biodiversity patterns. Implications for forest management are also briefly discussed. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi: ) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Atypical scrapie in a Swiss goat and implications for transmissible spongiform encephalopathy surveillance.

Different types of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) affect sheep and goats. In addition to the classical form of scrapie, both species are susceptible to experimental infections with the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) agent, and in recent years atypical scrapie cases have been reported in sheep from different European countries. Atypical scrapie in sheep is characterized by distinct histopathologic lesions and molecular characteristics of the abnormal scrapie prion protein (PrP(sc)). Characteristics of atypical scrapie have not yet been described in detail in goats. A goat presenting features of atypical scrapie was identified in Switzerland. Although there was no difference between the molecular characteristics of PrP(sc) in this animal and those of atypical scrapie in sheep, differences in the distribution of histopathologic lesions and PrP(sc) deposition were observed. In particular the cerebellar cortex, a major site of PrP(sc) deposition in atypical scrapie in sheep, was found to be virtually unaffected in this goat. In contrast, severe lesions and PrP(sc) deposition were detected in more rostral brain structures, such as thalamus and midbrain. Two TSE screening tests and PrP(sc) immunohistochemistry were either negative or barely positive when applied to cerebellum and obex tissues, the target samples for TSE surveillance in sheep and goats. These findings suggest that such cases may have been missed in the past and could be overlooked in the future if sampling and testing procedures are not adapted. The epidemiological and veterinary public health implications of these atypical cases, however, are not yet known.     

Histological localization assays for diflubenzuron in Pieris brassicae larva (Lepidoptera), by secondary ion microanalysis

No histochemical reaction is available to localize diflubenzuron in tissues. The insecticide can be localized in Pieris tissues by its fluoride atoms, used as tracers in secondary ion microanalysis, which is very sensitive for such light elements. In diflubenzuron-treated insects, especially in females, fluoride intensities are much higher than in controls; images demonstrate a wide distribution of the insecticide in the insect tissues. Thus, besides target organs, i.e., epidermis, diflubenzuron is present in other tissues, such as fat bodies, which may be related to the general metabolic effects and to a detoxification of the insecticide.     

Usefulness of single copy genes containing introns in Phytophthora for the development of detection tools for the regulated species P. ramorum and P. fragariae

Introns are generally highly polymorphic regions within genes and were proven to be of great interest for discriminating among phylogenetically-close Phytophthora species. Phytophthora ramorum and P. fragariae are considered as quarantine pathogens by the European Union and accurate detection tools are therefore necessary for their monitoring. From introns located in different single copy genes (GPA1, RAS-like, and TRP1), we developed a series of PCR primers specific to P. ramorum and P. fragariae. The specificity of these primers was successfully checked with a wide collection of Phytophthora isolates and a protocol was developed to detect both pathogens directly in infected plant tissues. These genes should be of particular interest for the development of additional species-specific detection tools within the Phytophthora genus.     

An easy and rapid method using microscopy to determine herbicide effects in Poaceae weed species

A new, easy, rapid and relatively inexpensive method using microscopy has been developed for the detection of herbicide effects in leaves of grass weed species displaying no visual signs of damage. The method has potential to be used as a tool to indicate future death of grass species due to herbicide exposure by observing phytochemical effects, i.e. early-warning effects. In the present study, Apera spica-venti (L.) Beauv., Bromus hordeaceus L., Alopecurus myosuroides Huds., Lolium perenne L. and Poa annua L. were exposed to lethal rates of four herbicides with different mode of action. The herbicides investigated were the thiocarbamate: prosulfocarb, the sulfonylurea: iodosulfuron, the aryloxyphenoxypropionate: fenoxaprop-P-ethyl and the organophosphate glyphosate. Autofluorescence of leaves was studied under a microscope using ultraviolet and blue light. The fluorescence of leaves treated to enhance flavonoids was also examined. To confirm the results, microspectrofluorometry was performed. Effects indicating future death of the grasses were observed in visually healthy leaves following treatment with prosulfocarb, glyphosate and iodosulfuron. No changes were detected following treatment with fenoxaprop-P-ethyl. After exposure to glyphosate or iodosulfuron, changes in the content of flavonoids and other compounds with a conjugation system and rigid structure and a decrease in the content of chlorophyll were detected in the leaves. Prosulfocarb treatment resulted in changes in the content of flavonoids and other compounds with a conjugation system and rigid structure and an increase in the content of chlorophyll in the leaves. The results obtained from microspectrofluorometry indicated that exposure to prosulfocarb caused a reduction in the flavonoids quercetin, naringenin and/or naringin.     

The protective immune response produced in dogs after primary vaccination with the LiESP/QA-21 vaccine (CaniLeish?) remains effective against an experimental challenge one year later

Control of canine leishmaniasis is an important objective for the benefit of dogs living in or visiting endemic areas and for public health because of the zoonotic nature of this disease. Resistance or susceptibility to developing canine leishmaniasis after exposure to Leishmania infantum is primarily determined by the ability of the immune system to develop an appropriate Th1-dominated specific response to the parasite. For this reason there is a need for effective canine vaccines that can decrease the number of dogs developing progressive infections. In this study, we followed the impact of the LiESP/QA-21 canine vaccine (composed of excreted-secreted proteins of L. infantum and the QA-21 saponin adjuvant), recently launched commercially in Europe, on selected humoral and cellular immune parameters following an infectious intravenous challenge with L. infantum promastigotes administered one year after the primary vaccine course. We also followed parasitological parameters to determine the parasitological status of the challenged dogs. In contrast to controls, vaccinated dogs retained significantly stronger cell-mediated immune responses against the parasite despite a virulent challenge and had significantly lower mean parasite burdens at the end of the study, associated with a lower probability of developing active infections. These results confirm that the immune responses generated by vaccination with LiESP/QA-21 are still effective against an intravenous challenge one year after the primary vaccine course.