The effect of user experience and inflation technique on endotracheal tube cuff pressure using a feline airway simulator

Objective

The effect of user experience and inflation technique on endotracheal tube cuff pressure using a feline airway simulator.

Comparative fluorescein angiography of the normal sheep and goat ocular fundi

Fluorescein angiography without sedative or anesthetic agents was evaluated in 20 normal goats and 20 normal sheep. All of the angiographic phases were observed using 20 mg/kg fluorescein IV in both species. Fundus fluorescein angiography results revealed wide stars of Winslow in the tapetal fundus, central or marginal flow during the first part of the arterial phase, delayed filling of the focal areas in the choroid near the optic disc that often coincided with others in the disc, and lack of evidence of the 'striate area' in the tapetal fundi. In goats, the angiographic times were 6.54+/-1.25 s for the arterial phase (TA), 7.80+/-1.37 s for the arterio-venous phase (TAV), and 14.13+/-2.01 s for the venous phase (TV). I1: 1.30+/-0.30 s (time elapsing between TA and TAV), and I2: 6.20+/-1.60 s (time elapsing between TAV and TV). In sheep, times were 9.54+/-2.18 s TA, 11.73+/-2.10 s TAV, and 20.86+/-2.74 s TV. I1: 2.04+/-0.75 s and I2: 8.98+/-2.47 s, respectively. Due to the large size of the fundic vessels in sheep and goats, fluorescein angiography of the retinal vasculature can facilitate the study of the different vascular diseases in these species.     

Ixodid ticks parasitizing Iberian red deer (Cervus elaphus hispanicus) and European wild boar (Sus scrofa) from Spain: geographical and temporal distribution

Commercial hunting of Spanish wild ungulates has made them an important economic resource. Wild ungulates may have an important role in the maintenance of ixodid tick populations, and also as reservoirs of pathogens. We studied the ixodid ticks that parasitize Iberian red deer and European wild boar from Spain. Ixodid ticks (n=6,336) were collected from 431 Iberian red deer and 142 wild boar in different regions of Spain. We found 10 different ixodid tick species parasitizing Iberian red deer, mainly Hyalomma marginatum marginatum (63.7%), Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) annulatus (7.9%) and R. bursa (7.5%). R. (Boophilus) annulatus was only collected in the province of Cádiz (southern Spain). We found 8 ixodid tick species on the wild boar, mainly Hy. m. marginatum (68.7%), R. bursa (14.6%) and Dermacentor marginatus (9.3%). We found one adult Hy. marginatum rufipes and one adult Hy. anatolicum excavatum parasitizing wild boar from south-central Spain. Mean prevalence of ixodid ticks was 41.3+/-0.08% (n=475) and 31+/-0.09% (n=284) and intensity of parasitization was 13.9+/-0.2 (n=283) and 13.6+/-0.3 (n=130) ticks/animal for Iberian red deer and wild boar, respectively. Only 5 of the 13 ixodid tick species found were shared by Iberian red deer and wild boar. This finding could indicate a host preference when Iberian red deer and wild boar share common habitats. In both Iberian red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain the monthly relative frequencies of Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa presented an inverse pattern. The highest Hy. m. marginatum relative frequencies coincided with the lowest R. bursa relative frequencies along the year. R. bursa and I. ricinus were present in areas from northern to southern Spain while Hyalomma sp. and D. marginatus were exclusively collected in the two southern thirds of Spain. Haemaphysalis sp. and D. reticulatus were collected in northern Spain. Hy. m. marginatum and R. bursa were present during the whole year in red deer and wild boar from south-central Spain, showing more than one life cycle per year. These results are important for understanding the role of wild ungulates in the maintenance of tick infestations and to improve tick control programmes.     

The effect of being housed with adult female flock-mates on the age at puberty of autumn-born ewe-lambs

Veterinary Research Communications - Twenty-five ewe-lambs born in November were used to measure the effect of the presence of cyclic or non-cyclic adult ewes on the age at first fertile estrus....     

Molecular characterization of Haemophilus parasuis ferric hydroxamate uptake (fhu) genes and constitutive expression of the FhuA receptor

Bacteria have evolved a set of highly specialized proteins to capture iron in iron-depleted environments. The acquisition and uptake of iron present in the extracellular milieu of eukaryotic organisms is indispensable for the growth and survival of microbial pathogens in the course of infection. Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of Gl?sser disease, which is responsible for considerable financial losses in pig-rearing worldwide. To gain insight into the mechanisms involved in siderophore-mediated iron uptake in H. parasuis, genes in the H. parasuis ferric hydroxamate uptake (Fhu) region were amplified in the work being reported here. As has been described in A. pleuropneumoniae, an Fhu genomic region was also present in H. parasuis, being composed of four potential consecutive open reading frames (ORF) designated as fhuC, fhuD, fhuB, and fhuA, respectively. By immunoblotting, using a cross-reactive polyclonal antibody raised against Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae FhuA protein, it was demonstrated that this protein was constitutively expressed in H. parasuis and its level of expression was not modified under conditions of restricted iron availability. This is the first report describing the presence of the fhu genes in H. parasuis. Our results indicate that FhuA protein expression is not affected under iron-restricted conditions, however, it is one of the targets of the humoral immune response.     

Evidence of the role of European wild boar as a reservoir of Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB) is caused by Mycobacterium bovis and closely related mycobacteria of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex. They have an extensive host range and may cause zoonotic TB. A major obstacle to bTB eradication in livestock is the implication of wildlife in the natural cycle of the pathogen. The identification of wildlife reservoir hosts is crucial for the implementation of effective control measures. The European wild boar (Sus scrofa) is frequently considered a spillover or dead end host rather than a true reservoir, and scientific evidence is conflicting outside Mediterranean Spain. The aim of this review is to update current scientific evidence of the wild boar as a TB reservoir and to underline those aspects that need further research. Evidences supporting that wild boar is a TB reservoir host include: (i) presence of common M. tuberculosis complex genotypes in wild boar, domestic and wild animals and humans, (ii) high prevalence of M. bovis among wild boar in estates fenced for decades in complete absence of contact with domestic livestock, and other wild ungulates (iii) TB lesions are frequently seen in thoracic lymph nodes and lungs, suggesting that respiratory infection and excretion may occur, and (iv) extensive tuberculous lesions in more than one anatomical region occur in a high proportion of juvenile wild boar that probably represents the main source of mycobacterial excretion. Hence, epidemiological, pathological and microbiological evidence strongly suggests that, at least in Spanish Mediterranean ecosystems, wild boar are able to maintain TB infection in the wild and are most probably able to transmit the disease to other species, acting as a true wildlife reservoir. These results expand the list of wildlife species that act as natural reservoirs of TB in different parts of the world and suggest the need to control the infection in wild boar populations for the complete eradication of the disease in Spain.     

Optimization of the pepsin digestion method for anisakids inspection in the fishing industry

During the last 50 years human anisakiasis has been rising while parasites have increased their prevalence at determined fisheries becoming an emergent major public health problem. Although artificial enzymatic digestion procedure by CODEX (STAN 244-2004: standard for salted Atlantic herring and salted sprat) is the recommended protocol for anisakids inspection, no international agreement has been achieved in veterinary and scientific digestion protocols to regulate this growing source of biological hazard in fish products. The aim of this work was to optimize the current artificial digestion protocol by CODEX with the purpose of offering a faster, more useful and safer procedure for factories workers, than the current one for anisakids detection. To achieve these objectives, the existing pepsin chemicals and the conditions of the digestion method were evaluated and assayed in fresh and frozen samples, both in lean and fatty fish species. Results showed that the new digestion procedure considerably reduces the assay time, and it is more handy and efficient (the quantity of the resulting residue was considerably lower after less time) than the widely used CODEX procedure. In conclusion, the new digestion method herein proposed based on liquid pepsin format is an accurate reproducible and user-friendly off-site tool, that can be useful in the implementation of screening programs for the prevention of human anisakiasis (and associated gastroallergic disorders) due to the consumption of raw or undercooked contaminated seafood products.