Paramphistomum spp. in Dairy Cattle in Québec

Few cases of infection with Paramphistomum spp. have been reported from cattle in Canada. During the course of a recent study of bovine fascioliasis both P. microbothrioides and P. liorchis were found in the rumen of dairy cattle slaughtered in a Quebec abattoir. Eggs in feces were distinguished on the basis of their size. Coprological analysis of 932 samples from 601 cows on 17 selected farms in Portneuf County (Quebec) revealed that 34% of the animals were infected with P. microbothrioides and 1% with P. liorchis. Based on data from one herd there appears to be significant seasonal variation in egg passage for P. microbothrioides. Furthermore, old cows exhibited a higher prevalence of infection.     

Hepatozoon spp.: report of some cases in dogs in Brasília, Brazil

Canine hepatozoonosis is a disease caused by the tick-borne protozoan Hepatozoon spp. It has been reported in the United States, southern Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Far East. In Brazil, canine hepatozoonosis is an emerging protozoal tick-borne disease, and is characterized by distinct clinical signs. The objective of this study was to analyze the laboratory findings of some hepatozoonosis cases in dogs in Brasília, Brazil, and their clinical signs. The animals of this experiment showed low parasitemia, similar to H. americanum, but the clinical signs presented were similar to H. canis. According to our observations and in agreement with O'Dwyer et al. [Vet. Parasitol. 94 (2001) 143], the Brazilian Hepatozoon appears more to resemble the species found in the eastern Hemisphere than with H. americanum of North America, or could be caused by a new species. Our data revealed that hepatozoonosis could be considered endemic in Brasília.     

Analysis of Seroreactivity against Cell Culture–Derived Bartonella spp. Antigens in Dogs

Background

Little is known about the specificity of Bartonella spp. immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) assays in dogs. Bacteremia in sick dogs most often has been associated with Bartonella henselae (Bh), Bartonella vinsonii subspecies berkhoffii (Bvb), and Bartonella koehlerae (Bk). Clarification of the diagnostic utility of IFA serology when testing against these organisms is needed.

Objective

To evaluate the specificity of Bartonella IFA assays utilizing 6 cell culture–grown antigen preparations.

Animals

Archived sera from SPF dogs (n = 29) and from dogs experimentally infected with Bvb (n = 10) and Bh (n = 3).

Methods

Antibodies (Abs) to Bvb genotypes I, II, and III, Bh serotype I, strains H‐1 and SA2, and to Bk were determined by IFA testing.

Results

Serum from naïve SPF dogs shown to be negative for Bartonella bacteremia did not react with any of the 6 Bartonella antigens by IFA testing. Dogs experimentally infected with Bvb genotype I developed Abs against homologous antigens, with no cross‐reactivity to heterologous Bvb genotypes, Bh H‐1, SA2 strains, or to Bk. Dogs experimentally infected with Bh serotype I developed Abs against Bh H‐1, but not to Bh SA2 strain with no cross‐reactive Abs to Bvb genotypes I–III or to Bk.

Conclusions and Clinical Importance

Bartonella spp. Ab responses during acute experimental infections are species and type specific.     

Cultural and Immunological Detection Methods for Salmonella spp. in Animal Feeds – A Review

Food-borne salmonellosis continues to be a major public health concern, and contamination with Salmonella spp. in pre-harvest animal production is considered a primary contributor to this problem. Animal feeds can easily become contaminated during primary production, feed mixing and processing as well as during feeding. Consequently, monitoring and surveillance of feeds and feed ingredients for Salmonella spp. contamination may be useful or necessary in the prevention and control of this organism. Cultural and immunological detection methods for salmonellae have been used or suggested as possible approaches for use in animal feeds. Cultural methods remain advantageous owing to their ability to detect viable bacterial cells, while immunological methods have the capability of detecting nonculturable bacterial cells. Advancements and improvements in both methodologies offer opportunities for eventual routine use of these detection technologies in animal feed assays.     

Prevalence of Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. in dogs from different living conditions in Uberlândia, Brazil

Infection rates with Giardia duodenalis and Cryptosporidium spp. were compared among dogs living under different conditions. Stool samples (n = 433) collected from dogs of different ages, gender, living conditions and origin were analyzed using three techniques, i.e., centrifugal flotation in zinc sulfate solution, centrifugal flotation in sucrose solution, and methylene blue gram safranin staining. Eighty-nine of the samples were from stay dogs living in shelters run by animal protection societies, 199 were from kennels and 122 from households. A total of 119 (29.0%) had G. duodenalis cysts and six (1.4%) were positive for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts. Dogs from kennels were most frequently affected by G. duodenalis (49.7%) while those from shelters showed a higher prevalence of Cryptosporidium spp. (2.2%). A significant difference (p < or = 0.05) was observed between immature dogs and adults only with respect to Giardia infection. There was no significant difference between the gender with regard to the presence of either protozoan.     

Serologic survey for Leptospira spp. in captive neotropical felids in Foz do Igua?u, Paraná, Brazil

Leptospirosis is a bacterial zoonosis of worldwide distribution and is endemic in tropical countries, where rodents and other wild mammals are abundant and may act as reservoirs. Leptospirosis has become a concern in captive wild animals, due mostly to their exposure to contaminated urine or environment. Although domestic cats (Felis catus) have been reported refractory to leptospirosis, serology and disease in captive wild felids is still unclear. In this study 57 adult, clinically healthy felids, including 1 Geoffroy's cat (Leopardus geoffroyi), 3 jaguarundis (Puma yagouaroundi), 17 margays (Leopardus wiedii), 22 little spotted cats (Leopardus tigrinus), and 14 ocelots (Leopardus pardalis) kept in captivity at the Sanctuary at the Itaipu Binacional hydroelectric power plant (Bela Vista Biological Sanctuary), Foz do Iguacu City, Paraná State, Brazil, were serologically surveyed for the presence of antibodies against 28 serovars of Leptospira spp. by microagglutination test (MAT). Two animals (3.5%) were seropositive: one male ocelot to the serovar Cynopteri (titer 100) and one female margay to Autumnalis (100) and Butembo (200). The captive-born, 5-yr-old ocelot had been solitary housed in an individual cage. The approximately 21-yr-old wild-caught margay was also kept individually. None of the tested animals showed signs ofleptospirosis. During a study conducted 4 yr previously in the same facility, this particular margay also tested positive for the same two serovars, among others. The present study indicates that the felids tested for Leptospira spp. by MAT were exposed to serovars, but did not demonstrate clinical signs of disease. Comparison with a previous study suggests that serovar titers may vary over time and that leptospirosis dynamics remains unclear in wild felids.     

Paenibacillus spp.BD3526金属蛋白酶对乳蛋白水解位点分析

为了比较具有凝乳功能的Paenibacillus spp.BD3526来源的金属蛋白酶与基因重组凝乳酶对乳蛋白水解位点的差异,采用BD3526金属蛋白酶和凝乳酶对αs1-酪蛋白(casein,CN)、αs2-CN、β-乳球蛋白(lactoglobulin,Lg)和κ-CN进行酶解,分别对不同时间的酶解产物采用高效液相色谱与四极杆飞行时间串联质谱(high performance liquid chromatography of quadrupole time of flight-tandem mass spectrometry,HPLC-Q-TOF-MS/MS)进行分析.结果表明:BD3526金属蛋白酶与凝乳酶在对乳蛋白的水解位点上具有较高的相似性,前者对αs1-CN、αs2-CN、β-Lg和κ-CN水解能力较后者弱,对P1为K(Lys)、R(Arg)且P1'为T(Thr)、F(Phe)和Y(Tyr)间的肽键水解特异性很高,并主要水解K-T (Lys-Thr)、K-F (Lys-Phe)、R-F(Arg-Phe)、R-Y(Arg-Tyr)肽键,水解生成的肽具有血管紧张素转换酶(angiotensin converting enzyme,ACE)抑制、抗菌、免疫调节等功能.     

熊蜂（Bombus spp.）的授粉特性及其人工饲养

本文通过对Bombus lucorum和Bombus terrestris两个熊蜂种的室内饲养及温室蔬菜授粉试验,分析了熊蜂的授粉特性、人工饲养技巧和应用前景.     

Sero-epidemiological study of canine Leishmania spp. infection in the municipality of Alijó (Alto Douro, Portugal)

Visceral leishmaniosis caused by Leishmania infantum is a zoonotic disease in the Mediterranean basin. We report an epidemiological survey carried out in dogs from the municipality of Alijó in the endemic region of Alto Douro (north Portugal). Performance of the direct agglutination test (DAT) was assessed in 205 matching samples of blood collected on filter paper and serum. A high degree of agreement (97.6%; k = 0.83) was found between the results obtained from both types of samples. DAT was then used to test more blood on filter paper (B-FP) samples from other dogs of the same municipality. The detected sero-prevalence was 18.7% (288/1540), with values ranging from 0.0 to 81.1% in each of the 19 parishes of Alijó. Three distinct geographical zones of mean sero-prevalence could be defined: northwestern (2.5%), intermediate (11.4%) and southern (49.9%). No statistically significant difference was observed between male (19.1%) and female (17.8%) sero-prevalences (P = 0.560). Dogs of 9-11 years of age showed the highest sero-prevalence (28.4%), but all the other age-intervals (0-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 12-17 years) presented values (15.0-22.3%) not significantly different from the mean of the whole study population. Risk factors for canine Leishmania infection were age and geographical zone. Only 5.9% of the sero-positive animals had clinical signs of canine leishmaniosis and the overall prevalence of disease was 1.1%. This study validates the use of B-FP samples and confirms DAT as a simple and sensitive serological test to evaluate the level of canine Leishmania infection in areas of high sero-prevalence.     

Bovine Chlamydophila spp. infection: Do we underestimate the impact on fertility?

The efficacy of ketamine and bupivacaine in enhancing the epidural analgesia induced by medetomidine was evaluated in 10 buffalo calves utilized repeatedly after a gap of 10 days so that each drug combination was tested in 4 randomly selected animals. In group A, medetomidine (15 microg/kg), in group B ketamine (2.0 mg/kg), in group C bupivacaine (0.125 mg/kg), in group D medetomidine and ketamine (15 microg/kg and 2.0 mg/kg), and in group E medetomidine and bupivacaine (15 microg/kg and 0.125 mg/kg) was administered epidurally. Onset of analgesia was significantly earlier in animals of groups B and D compared to the animals of groups A, C and E. Medetomidine alone or in combination with ketamine/bupivacaine produced complete analgesia of the tail, perineum, inguinal region and upper parts of hind limbs. Ketamine produced a very short duration of complete analgesia at the tail and perineum. Bupivacaine alone produced only mild to moderate analgesia. Both ketamine and bupivacaine prolonged the duration of analgesia. Motor incoordination was mild to moderate in animals of all the groups, but animals remained standing throughout the period of observation. Animals of groups A, D and E showed mild to moderate sedation during the observation period. Ruminal movements decreased nonsignificantly in animals of groups A and E. Mild salivation was observed in animals of all the groups except group C. Significant decrease in heart rate (HR) was recorded after epidural administration of medetomidine or bupivacaine; however, ketamine caused short duration of tachycardia. The administration of ketamine with medetomidine caused lesser decrease in HR compared to medetomidine alone or in combination with bupivacaine. Significant fall in respiratory rate (RR) was recorded after epidural administration of medetomidine or bupivacaine alone, but an increase in RR was recorded after ketamine administration. The fall in RR was less pronounced in animals in which medetomidine was used with ketamine compared to the animals in which medetomidine was used alone or in combination with bupivacaine. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) decreased and central venous pressure (CVP) increased significantly after epidural administration of medetomidine in combination with ketamine or bupivacaine. The ECG changes included tall T wave, QS pattern, RS pattern and ST elevation and heart blocks at different intervals, which were more frequent and pronounced in animals given bupivacaine with medetomidine. It can be concluded that epidural administration of medetomidine can produce complete analgesia of the tail, perineum, inguinal region and upper hind limbs in buffaloes. However, significant depression of cardiovascular parameters was recorded. Administration of ketamine along with medetomidine resulted in significantly early onset and slightly longer duration of analgesia with lesser cardiopulmonary side-effects compared to medetomidine alone or medetomidine with bupivacaine. Addition of ketamine to medetomidine thus seems to be useful for producing epidural analgesia; however, addition of bupivacaine failed to provide any advantage over medetomidine alone.     

Phenotypic–genotypic resistance in Salmonella spp. isolated from cattle carcasses from the north central zone of the State of Mexico

Salmonella is a public and animal health problem due to the generation of strains multiresistant to antimicrobial products. The objective of this study was to determine prevalence and antimicrobial phenotypic and genotypic resistance of Salmonella spp. isolated from beef cattle carcasses killed in slaughterhouses of the north central zone of the State of Mexico. Sampling was carried out according to the European Directive 2001/471/EC; isolation and identification of the strain was carried out according to the Mexican Official Standard NOM-114-SSA1-1994; resistance was established by CMI according to the National Committees for Clinical Laboratory Standards (NCLS) and multiplex PCR according to Ahmed et al. (Journal of Applied Microbiology 106:402–409, 2009) with PSE-1, tetG, qnrS, FloR, STR, and sul1 oligonucleotides. Twenty-seven strains of Salmonella spp. were obtained from 327 samples (prevalence of 0.083); 19 strains (70 %) were resistant to 10 μg/ml of ampicillin, 15 of these (79 %) had the PSE-1 gene; 22 strains (84 %) were resistant to 30 μg/ml streptomycin, 14 of these (63.6 %) had the STR gene. Genes PSE-1 and STR were factors in the presence of resistance, the rest of the genes (tetG, qnrS, FloR, and sul1) were not factors of resistance in the studied strains.     

Bovine Chlamydophila spp. infection: do we underestimate the impact on fertility?

Classical methods for detection of Chlamydophila species, and of antibodies against these agents, have indicated that these bacteria are highly prevalent in cattle and associated with numerous disease conditions. These methods demonstrated acute Chlamydophila-induced diseases such as epizootic bovine abortion, as well as worldwide variable, but generally high, Chlamydophila seroprevalence. However, it was impossible to consistently detect the low levels of these organisms which were suspected to be present in endemic infections. Application of highly sensitive real-time PCR and ELISA methods for detection of Chlamydophila spp. DNA and of antibodies against Chlamydophila spp., respectively, in a series of prospective cohort studies revealed a high prevalence of Chlamydophila spp. genital infections in female calves (61%) and adult heifers (53%). These infections were acquired by extragenital transmission in the first weeks of life, and infection frequency was increased by crowding of the animals. A challenge study demonstrated that infection with C. abortus resulted in decreased fertility of heifers. The experimental use of a C. abortus vaccine provided evidence for immunoprotection against C. abortus-induced suppression of bovine fertility. The results of these investigations suggest that bovine Chlamydophila infection should be viewed more as pervasive, low-level infection of cattle than as rare, severe disease. Such infections proceed without apparent disease or with only subtle expressions of disease, but potentially have a large impact on bovine herd health and fertility.     

Does examination of fecal samples 24 hours after cestocide treatment increase the sensitivity of Anoplocephala spp. detection in naturally infected horses?

Fecal samples were examined immediately before and 24 to 48 h after cestocide treatment for a comparative detection of tapeworm-positive horses. In early winter, 17 weanlings, 20 yearlings, 15 2-year-old horses, 24 breeding mares, and 2 stallions were treated with praziquantel in combination with a macrocyclic lactone. The horses were presumed to be naturally infected with tapeworms after pasture grazing. Fecal samples were collected before treatment (Day 0), at 24 or 48 h after treatment (Day 1-2), and 16 to 21 d after treatment (Day 16-21). A Wisconsin test was done on all fecal samples. Odds of detection of infection for all age groups increased by a factor of 2.04 [95% confidence interval (CI): 1.30 to 3.20] from Day 0 to Day 1-2 (P = 0.002).     

Prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. and individual risk Factors of Infection in Traditional Cattle, Goats and Sheep Reared in Livestock–Wildlife Interface Areas of Zambia

A cross-sectional study was performed in the livestock–wildlife interface areas of Lochinvar and Blue Lagoon National Parks and the non-interface area of Kazungula to determine the prevalence of antibodies to Brucella spp. in domestic ruminants and identify individual animal risk factors of infection. A total of 1245 cattle from 124 herds and 280 goats and sheep from 29 flocks were tested sequentially for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal test (RBT) and competitive ELISA. In cattle, individual seroprevalence ranged from 14.1% to 28.1%, while herd sero–prevalence ranged from 46.2% to 74.0% in the three study areas. No goat or sheep tested positive for Brucella antibodies. Three types of cattle grazing strategies were encountered: locally grazed herds (LGH), transhumantly grazed herds (TGH) and river flood plain grazed herds (FGH). Brucella seroprevalence was seen to vary according to area and grazing strategy: Lochinvar and transhumant grazed herds recorded the highest figures, respectively. Age, sex and history of abortion were found to have independent effects on individual seroprevalence. This study establishes that brucellosis is endemic in domestic animals in the livestock–wildlife interface areas of Blue Lagoon and Lochinvar national parks and the disease is also present in Kazungula. We observed that type of grazing strategy had significant impact on cattle Brucella seroprevalence and that transhumant herds were at high risk of being infected.     

Molecular evaluation of the incidence of Ehrlichia canis, Anaplasma platys and Babesia spp. in dogs from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil

Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis caused by Ehrlichia canis is endemic in many regions of Brazil. Since thrombocytopenia is a common finding in infected dogs, many clinicians tend to use it as an indication for antibiotic treatment. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and nested PCR were used to study the presence of E. canis, Anaplasma platys and Babesia spp. in thrombocytopenic and non-thrombocytopenic dogs from Ribeirão Preto, Brazil. Despite the high prevalence of E. canis infection among thrombocytopenic dogs, 46.7% of the thrombocytopenic dogs studied were either infected with Babesia spp. or A. platys or not infected with any of the three pathogens. There was a high incidence (25.4%) of E. canis infection in non-thrombocytopenic dogs. Although infection with E. canis should be considered in thrombocytopenic dogs, the final diagnosis needs to be confirmed by complementary tests such as blood smears and PCR to avoid the unnecessary use of antibiotics.     

Molecular identification of Cryptosporidium spp. from fecal samples of felines, canines and bovines in the state of São Paulo, Brazil

The objective of this study was to obtain information of epidemiological nature through genotypic characterization of Cryptosporidium isolates from dogs, cats and bovines from the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The extraction of DNA from oocysts was carried out and polymerase chain reaction was accomplished using specific primers to 18S rRNA gene. The amplicons were directed sequenced. Seven cat samples, nine dog samples and nine bovine samples were analysed. From the seven cat samples the genotypic analyses revealed Cryptosporidium felis in all. These were the first genotypic characterization of Cryptosporidium from domestic felines in Brazil. In nine sequenced samples from dogs, genotypic identities compatible with Cryptosporidium canis were revealed in all samples. The genotypic analyses in bovines revealed Cryptosporidium parvum in eight samples and Cryptosporidium bovis in another sample, the last one being a non-zoonotic species, not related to clinical symptoms and described for the first time in Brazil.