Seroepidemiological study on Coxiella burnetii and associated risk factors in ruminants at Kurdistan Province,west of Iran

Q fever is zoonotic disease caused by Coxiella burnetii. Ruminants are the main reservoir of this pathogen, which is often asymptomatic but lead to abortion. This study aims to survey the seroprevalence and risk factors of this zoonose among ruminants in Kurdistan province, the west of Iran. 480 blood samples were collected from ruminants including sheep, goats and cows, each 160 samples, in the age groups of <1, ≥1−3, >3−5 year with and without the history of abortion in two groups border and non-border cities in Kurdistan province. Serums were tested by use of indirect ELISA to determine specific antibodies against C. burnetii. The results indicate the seroprevalence of 46.6 % for Q fever. Seroprevalence in sheep, goats and cows were 28.58 % (n = 64), 45.53 % (n = 102) and 25.89 % (n = 58), respectively. Seroprevalence is significantly higher in animals with abortion than in those without such history (P < 0.05). The seroprevalence in the border cities has been significantly higher than other geographical areas (P < 0.05). Seroprevalence had no significant correlation with animal age (P> 0.05). This study is the first seroepidemiological study done on Q fever in ruminants of Kurdistan province, Iran. The results indicate the high seroprevalence of Coxiella burnetii in the area under the study. Therefore, doing an epidemiologically study aimed at isolating C. brunetii in the human population of Kurdistan province is recommended, so that the epidemiological aspect of this pathogen in the people of Kurdistan province be clarified and subsequently disease control and prevention programs be applied.     

Review of African swine fever outbreaks history in South Africa: From 1926 to 2018

The article reviews the outbreaks and distribution of African swine fever (ASF) in South Africa since the first probable outbreak that occurred in the Koedoesrand Ward in 1926. Retrospective data on the ASF outbreaks in South Africa were obtained from the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) disease database and the South African veterinary services annual reports in addition to published articles and online sources. South Africa has experienced many outbreaks that can be divided into 2 time periods: the period before the development of the OIE diseases database (1993) and the period after. More than 141 outbreaks of ASF were reported during the first period. Since the development of OIE disease database, 72 outbreaks directly involving 2968 cases, 2187 dead and 2358 killed pigs mainly in smallholder pig farms were reported. The median number of cases for a given ASF outbreak is 17, but in 50% of outbreaks no pigs were killed for prevention. The most important ASF outbreak was reported in April 2014 in the Greater Zeerust district (North West province) involving 326 cases and 1462 killed pigs. However, the outbreak with highest mortality involving 250 pigs was reported in 2016 (Free State province). According to phylogenetic analysis, nine p72 genotypes (I, III, IV, VII, VIII, XIX, XX, XXI and XXII) have been identified in South Africa. Season-wise, more outbreaks were recorded during summer. It was also observed that the OIE disease database could contain errors that would have been introduced through compiled forms at country level. Spatiotemporal studies on ASF outbreaks in South Africa are therefore required in order to assess statistically and quantitatively the clustering of outbreaks over space and time.     

猪多杀性巴氏杆菌的分离鉴定及oppA基因遗传进化分析

【目的】了解福建省猪场猪多杀性巴氏杆菌（Pasteurella multocida,Pm）的流行及oppA基因遗传进化情况。【方法】本研究采用细菌分离培养、生化试验、16S rRNA PCR扩增测序、PCR荚膜分型、oppA基因克隆及相似性分析、动物回归试验等方法对分离菌株进行鉴定和分析。【结果】本研究共分离到10株菌,分离菌在血平板上形成淡灰白色、湿润光滑、奶油露珠状菌落;分离菌株能酵解蔗糖、果糖、麦芽糖和甘露醇,不能分解葡萄糖、枸橼酸盐、乳糖、硫化氢等,与多杀性巴氏杆菌生化特性基本一致;分离菌株16S rRNA序列与GenBank中登录的多杀性巴氏杆菌相似性达99.9%以上,10株分离菌均为多杀性巴氏杆菌;PCR荚膜分型显示,6株分离菌为荚膜A型,4株为荚膜D型;基于oppA基因的遗传进化树显示,10株分离菌均位于同一分支内;动物回归试验结果显示,在24 h内攻毒小鼠死亡率较高（21/30）,分离菌有较强的致病力。【结论】福建省猪场猪多杀性巴氏杆菌流行菌株的荚膜血清型主要是A和D型,且大部分菌株都来源于共同的祖先,本研究结果丰富了猪多杀性巴氏杆菌的流行病学资料,并为该病的防控奠定基础。     

Treatment of pigs with enrofloxacin via different oral dosage forms – environmental contaminations and resistance development of Escherichia coli

BackgroundAntibacterial agents play important roles in the treatment of bacterial infections. However, the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and carry-over of substances into the environment are several problems arising during oral treatment of bacterial infections. We assessed AMR development in commensal Escherichia coli (E. coli) in enrofloxacin treated and untreated animals. In addition, we examined fluoroquinolone in the plasma and urine of treated and untreated animals, and in sedimentation dust and aerosol.MethodsIn each trial, six pigs were treated with enrofloxacin via powder, granulate or pellet forms in two time periods (days 1–5 and 22–26). Four pigs served as untreated controls. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined to evaluate AMR development. Analysis of enro- and ciprofloxacin was performed with high performance liquid chromatography.ResultsNon-wildtype E. coli (MIC > 0.125 µg/mL) was detected in the pellet treated group after the first treatment period, whereas in the other groups, non-wildtype isolates were found after the second treatment period. E. coli with MIC > 4 µg/mL was found in only the pellet trial. Untreated animals showed similar susceptibility shifts several days later. Bioavailability differed among the treatment forms (granulate > pellet > powder). Enro- and ciprofloxacin were detected in aerosols and sedimentation dust (granulate, powder > pellet).ConclusionsThis study indicates that the kind of the oral dosage form of antibiotics affects environmental contamination and AMR development in commensal E. coli in treated and untreated pigs.     

Neighbourhood infections of classical swine fever during the 1997-1998 epidemic in The Netherlands

Data of the 1997–1998 epidemic of classical swine fever (CSF) in The Netherlands were analysed in survival analysis to identify risk factors that were associated with the rate of neighbourhood infections. The study population consisted of herds within 1000 m of exclusively one previously infected herd. Dates of virus introduction into herds were drawn randomly from estimated probability distributions per herd of possible weeks of virus introduction. (To confirm the insensitivity of the results for this random data-selection procedure, the procedure was repeated 9 times (resulting in 10 different datasets).) The dataset had 906 non-infected and 59 infected neighbour herds, which were distributed over 215 different neighbourhoods. Neighbour herds that never became infected were right-censored at the last date of the infectious period of the infected source herd. Neighbour herds that became empty within the infectious period or within the following 21 days due to preventive depopulation or due to the implemented buying-out programme were right-censored 21 days before the moment of becoming empty. This was done as a correction for the time a herd could be infected without being noticed as such.

The median time to identified infection of neighbour herds was 2 weeks, whereas the median time to right censoring of non-infected neighbour herds was 3 weeks. The risk factors, radial distance ≤500 m, cattle present on source herd and increasing herd size of the neighbour herd were associated multivariably with the hazard for neighbour herds to become infected. We did not find an association between time down wind and infection risk for neighbour herds. Radial dispersion of CSFV seemed more important in neighbourhood infections than dispersion along the road on which the infected source herd is situated. The results of this study support the strategy of preventive depopulation in the neighbourhood of an infected herd. Recommendations are presented to adapt the applied control strategy for neighbourhood infections.     

A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis of Phase I Inactivated Vaccines to Reduce Shedding of Coxiella burnetii From Sheep and Goats From Routes of Public Health Importance

Q fever in humans and coxiellosis in livestock are both caused by Coxiella burnetii. The public health importance of vaccination against C. burnetii shedding from sheep and goats was evaluated using systematic review and meta‐analysis to provide evidence for policy direction to prevent potential zoonotic spread. Publications reporting shedding of C. burnetii in vaginal and uterine secretions, milk, placenta and faeces were included. A single observational (one goat) and seven experimental (four goat and three sheep) vaccine studies were included in the review. No relevant publications on other interventions were identified. Random effects meta‐analyses were performed for the risk of shedding in individuals in the control and vaccinated groups and for the mean difference in the level of bacterial shedding in sheep and goats stratified by age and previous exposure status. Limited data were available for further analytic evaluation. From the pooled analysis, an inactivated phase I vaccine significantly reduced the risk of shedding from uterine (RR = 0.10; 95%CI 0.05–0.20) secretions in previously sensitized goats. Individual studies reported significant risk reduction in milk (RR = 0.03; 95%CI 0.01–0.26), vaginal secretions (RR = 0.40; 95%CI 0.22–0.75) and faeces (RR = 0.79; 95%CI 0.63–0.97) from naïve goats. The pooled mean levels of bacteria shed from placental [mean difference (MD = ?5.24 Log₁₀; 95%CI ?6.75 to ?3.7)] and vaginal (MD = ?1.78 Log₁₀; 95%CI ?2.19 to ?1.38) routes were significantly decreased in vaccinated naïve goats compared with controls. Shedding through all other routes from vaccinated goats was not significantly different than shedding from control goats. No effect of vaccination was found on the risk of shedding or the mean level of shedding in vaccinated sheep compared with control sheep. Our conclusions are based on a limited amount of data with variable risk of systematic error.     

奶牛流行热的诊断及中西医结合疗法

奶牛流行热是奶牛的一种急性热性传染病,奶牛感染此病后,发病率高,给养殖户带来的损失严重。对一例奶牛流行热的诊疗新技术的研究供广大临床工作者及研究人员参考。     

Monitoring the Immune Status of Broilers Against Reoviruses Using Challenge and Serologic Data

Reoviruses are an important cause of suboptimum performance in commercial broilers worldwide. Integrators use the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay against the S1133 antigen for monitoring serum of breeders for indicating pullet vaccine success. However, without correlating serology to reovirus challenge, it is difficult to determine whether titers reflect protective immunity. We developed a broiler challenge test against 2 common reovirus isolates (2408 and S1133) to evaluate the efficacy of reovirus pullet vaccine programs. Two reovirus serologic and challenge studies were undertaken using chicks from broiler integrators from the southeastern United States. Breeder flocks, from which the chicks were obtained, received at least 1 live and 2 inactivated reovirus vaccines during their pullet phase. One-day-old progeny were collected from 6 breeder flocks. At 1 d of age, 20 chicks from each broiler flock were bled, and serum was analyzed for antibodies. At 3 to 4 d of age, 20 progeny per flock were challenged with the 2408 reovirus by intratracheal route. At 10 to 14 d of age, another 20 birds per flock were challenged with the S1133 reovirus by footpad. Twenty birds per flock were used as nonchallenged controls. At 3 wk of age, all birds were killed and weighed. Percentage of protection was calculated for each flock based on the absence of gross lesions. Flocks with at least 50% protection were considered well protected. Most flocks were well protected against both viruses. The percentage of protection correlated with day-old enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay titers. Chicks from younger hens had higher titers and the best protection against challenge. Producers, whose hen flocks were monitored herein, were doing a good job of immunizing pullets against reovirus. They are now using reovirus progeny challenge studies along with breeder antibody titers to determine vaccination success of their pullets.     

羊痘研究概况

羊痘病毒基因组庞大,约有150 kb,包括中间编码区和两端相同的反向末端重复序列;绵羊痘病毒和山羊痘病毒基因组彼此十分相似,约有96%的核苷酸完全相同.p32蛋白是目前世界各地分离鉴定的所有羊痘病毒株共有的且特异性很强的结构蛋白,在诊断和预防方面具有重要的应用价值.虽然羊疸从临床症状和宿主特异性上很客易做出诊断,但进一步的实验室确诊还是必要的,现已有多种检测方法和诊断试剂.控制该病最有效的方法是使用疫苗对易感动物进行免疫接种.文章从病原学、诊断和预防控制等方面对羊痘进行综述.