Clinical, histopathological and epidemiological study of canine straelensiosis in the Iberian Peninsula (2003–2007)

Straelensiosis is a relatively new disease described in dogs and produced by a trombiculid larva known as Straelensia cynotis . Few cases have been reported in the English literature. Straelensiosis has been observed in Southern France and Northern Portugal causing a distinctive nodular dermatitis. The present study describes the clinical, histopathological and epidemiological features of 19 cases diagnosed as straelensiosis in the north of Spain and Portugal (2003–2007). A follow-up of the animals after diagnosis was carried out. Differences with previously described cases were observed, especially concerning epidemiology and histopathology. The grade of response to different treatments and new microscopic features are discussed. The study concludes that S. cynotis can cause a nodular dermatitis in rural and hunting dogs in Spain and Portugal and is associated with particular seasonal and geographical factors.     

A survey of antibodies to pestivirus in sheep in the Republic of Ireland

: Sera from 1,448 adult ewes in 91 flocks, representing all 26 counties in the Republic of Ireland, were examined for pestivirus antibodies using a commercially available ELISA which detected IgG1 antibody to border disease virus. Eighty-one sheep (5.6%) in 42 flocks (46.0%) were antibody-positive. Within infected flocks, the mean seroprevalence level was 11.4% with a range of 6.3% to 30.0%. The highest antibody prevalence was detected in sheep from central lowland counties of Ireland. Comparative neutralisation testing of 42 ELISA-positive sera detected geometric mean antibody titres of 136 to the NADL strain of bovine viral diarrhoea virus (BVDV), 92 to the Moredun strain of border disease virus and 21 to the 137/4 strain of border disease virus. These results suggest that BVDV may be the major ruminant pestivirus infecting sheep in Ireland. Although there are high numbers of infected flocks, many sheep within such flocks remain antibody-negative and are at risk of giving birth to lambs with congenital border disease.     

Pancytopenia in a cat with visceral leishmaniasis

Abstract: A 4‐year‐old, domestic shorthair, female spayed cat was presented for decreased appetite and depression. Severe pancytopenia with erythrocyte autoagglutination was found. The cat was seronegative for feline immunodeficiency and leukemia viruses. Immune‐mediated hemolytic anemia was suspected but no response to treatment with a blood transfusion, enrofloxacin, and prednisone was observed. Blood and bone marrow smears obtained 11 days later contained Leishmania amastigotes in the cytoplasm of neutrophils and macrophages, respectively. Serologic and PCR testing of peripheral blood confirmed infection with Leishmania infantum. Despite treatment, the cat worsened clinically and was euthanized. At necropsy, visceral dissemination of the parasite was confirmed. The findings in this case indicate that visceral leishmaniasis should be considered as a differential diagnoses in cats with pancytopenia in areas endemic for Leishmania. In addition, amastigotes may be observed in peripheral blood neutrophils.     

Plant growth,yield, and fruit quality of ‘Fallglo’ and ‘Sunburst’ mandarins on four rootstocks

Vegetative growth, yield, and fruit quality of ‘Fallglo’ and ‘Sunburst’ mandarins on ‘Rangpur’ lime, ‘Swingle’ citrumelo, ‘Orlando’ tangelo, and ‘Cleopatra’ mandarin were evaluated under subtropical climate of Northern São Paulo State, Brazil, from 2000 through 2006 harvest seasons. ‘Fallglo’ mandarin trees had the highest cumulative yield on ‘Rangpur’ lime, and the smallest on ‘Swingle’ citrumelo and ‘Orlando’ tangelo. Plants of this cultivar had the highest yield efficiency on ‘Rangpur’ lime, and the lowest on ‘Orlando’ tangelo. ‘Sunburst’ mandarin trees began to bear fruits later than ‘Fallglo’ mandarin trees, with no differences in yield induced by the rootstocks. ‘Cleopatra’ mandarin induced the most vigorous growth in ‘Fallglo’ mandarin as compared to plants on ‘Swingle’ citrumelo. On the other hand, the largest trees of ‘Sunburst’ mandarin were registered on ‘Orlando’ tangelo, and the smallest on ‘Rangpur’ lime. ‘Sunburst’ mandarin had higher alternate bearing than ‘Fallglo’ regardless the rootstock. Fruit weight and juice content were not affected by the rootstock. These two mandarin scion cultivars may be considered adequate alternatives to produce good fruit quality for the fresh fruit market. ‘Cleopatra’ mandarin and ‘Rangpur lime are suitable rootstocks for ‘Fallglo’ mandarin, whereas all rootstocks evaluated are adequate for ‘Sunburst’ mandarin.     

The relative influence of catchment and site variables on fish and macroinvertebrate richness in cerrado biome streams

Landscape and site-scale data analyses aid the interpretation of biological data and thereby help us develop more cost-effective natural resource management strategies. Our study focused on environmental influences on stream assemblages and we evaluated how three classes of environmental variables (geophysical landscape, land use and cover, and site habitat), influence fish and macroinvertebrate assemblage richness in the Brazilian Cerrado biome. We analyzed our data through use of multiple linear regression (MLR) models using the three classes of predictor variables alone and in combination. The four MLR models explained dissimilar amounts of benthic macroinvertebrate taxa richness (geophysical landscape R ² ≈ 35 %, land use and cover R ² ≈ 28 %, site habitat R ² ≈ 36 %, and combined R ² ≈ 51 %). For fish assemblages, geophysical landscape, land use and cover, site habitat, and combined models explained R ² ≈ 28 %, R ² ≈ 10 %, R ² ≈ 31 %, and R ² ≈ 47 % of the variability in fish species richness, respectively. We conclude that (1) environmental variables differed in the degree to which they explain assemblage richness, (2) the amounts of variance in assemblage richness explained by geophysical landscape and site habitat were similar, (3) the variables explained more variability in macroinvertebrate taxa richness than in fish species richness, and (4) all three classes of environmental variables studied were useful for explaining assemblage richness in Cerrado headwater streams. These results help us to understand the drivers of assemblage patterns at regional scales in tropical areas.     

Artificial decrease of leaf area affects inflorescence quality but not floral size in Antirrhinum majus

We have studied the effect of artificial modification of leaf area on inflorescence and floral quality in Antirrhinum majus. We used two treatments where we clipped all the leaves except the first three pairs of true leaves, or we cut every leaf visible by the time the plant had six leaf pairs. Decreased leaf area caused a decrease in stem elongation that could be traced back to a decrease in internode elongation. Leaves left on the plant increased their size beyond control. Inflorescence quality was strongly affected since total floral number showed a strong decrease with reduced leaf area. In contrast, floral size hardly changed. Breeding programs in Antirrhinum should take into account growth conditions affecting leaf area when searching for changes in inflorescence quality while floral size can be screened independently of this factor.     

Effect of site and storage conditions on quality of industrial fresh pepper

The commercial expansion of roasted pepper as a high market value product have made that the period of time in which canning industries process the fresh pepper fruits needs to be extended. Fresh sweet pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) destined for industry grown in different sites was cold stored in order to analyse the effect of different sites and storage conditions on the quality of the product at harvest and during storage. Storage during 10 days at 8 °C was the best storage condition to improve quality of pepper destined for industry, because colour was improved, weight loss (1–1.6%) was lower than maximum permissible and decay incidence was only between 0% and 2.3%. Harvest should be delayed until pepper reaches the red state in order to increase the quality of the fruit. However, these results suggest that pepper growers should assure a high content of Ca (>0.6 g kg⁻¹) in the soil to avoid a high incidence of decay during storage when a late harvest is needed to guarantee the enhancement of colour in pepper fruit destined for industry. These storage conditions are in accordance with those found to improve the sensory quality of roasted pepper.     

Seroprevalence and risk factors for Neospora caninum in sheep in the state Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and risk factors associated with infection due to Neospora caninum in serum samples from 488 sheep originating from 63 farms in 63 municipalities distributed across eight of the twelve mesoregions of the state Minas Gerais, southeastern Brazil. For detection of N. caninum the sheep serum samples were subjected to the indirect fluorescence antibody test (IFAT ≥ 50). To identify the risk factors associated with infection due to N. caninum a questionnaire was filled out for each herd by interviewing, the individual responsible for the herd, demanding information on the general characteristics of the property. Sixty-four sheep sera (13.1%; 95% CI=10.3-16.4) presented IgG-specific anti-N. caninum antibodies with the following titers: 50 (49; 76.6%), 100 (7; 10.9%), 200 (4; 6.2%), 400 (3; 4.7%) and 800 (1; 1.6%). The prevalence of infected sheep per mesoregion ranged from 0 to 28.1%. Out of the 63 farms sampled, 31 (49.2%; 95% CI=36.4-62.1) presented at least one seropositive sheep. No significant association was found between the presence of anti-N. caninum antibodies and the risk factors evaluated on the farms, except for the mesoregion variable (p=0.004; OR=0.429; CI95%=0.182-1.008). These results indicate that there is a need for additional research to define the epidemiological importance of this parasite as a cause of reproductive problems in sheep herds in Minas Gerais.     

Genomic analysis of influenza A virus from captive wild boars in Brazil reveals a human-like H1N2 influenza virus

Influenza is a viral disease that affects human and several animal species. In Brazil, H1N1, H3N2 and 2009 pandemic H1N1 A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza A viruses (IAV) circulate in domestic swine herds. Wild boars are also susceptible to IAV infection but in Brazil until this moment there are no reports of IAV infection in wild boars or in captive wild boars populations. Herein the occurrence of IAV in captive wild boars with the presence of lung consolidation lesions during slaughter was investigated. Lung samples were screened by RT-PCR for IAV detection. IAV positive samples were further analyzed by quantitative real-time PCR (qRRT-PCR), virus isolation, genomic sequencing, histopathology and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Eleven out of 60 lungs (18.3%) were positive for IAV by RT-PCR and seven out of the eleven were also positive for A(H1N1)pdm09 by qRRT-PCR. Chronic diffuse bronchopneumonia was observed in all samples and IHC analysis was negative for influenza A antigen. Full genes segments of H1N2 IAV were sequenced using Illumina's genome analyzer platform (MiSeq). The genomic analysis revealed that the HA and NA genes clustered with IAVs of the human lineage and the six internal genes were derived from the H1N1pdm09 IAV. This is the first report of a reassortant human-like H1N2 influenza virus infection in captive wild boars in Brazil and indicates the need to monitor IAV evolution in Suidae populations.