News

A novel spatial and stochastic model to evaluate the within and between farm transmission of classical swine fever virus: II Validation of the model

Investigation article published in Veterinary Microbiology

A new, recently published, stochastic and spatial model for the evaluation of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) spread into Spain has been validated by using several methods. Internal validity, sensitivity analysis, validation using historical data, comparison with other models and experiments on data validity were used to evaluate the overall reliability and consistency of the model. More than 100 modifications in input data and parameters were evaluated. Outputs were obtained after 1000 iterations for each new scenario of the model. As a result, the model was shown to be consistent, being t… Read more

Evaluation of the sensitivity and specificity of bovine tuberculosis diagnostic tests in naturally infected cattle herds using a Bayesian approach

Investigation published in Veterinary Microbiology

Test-and-slaughter strategies have been the basis of bovine tuberculosis (BT) eradication programs worldwide; however, eradication efforts have not succeeded in certain regions, and imperfect sensitivity and specificity of applied diagnostic techniques have been deemed as one of the possible causes for such failure. Evaluation of tuberculosis diagnostic tools has been impaired by the lack of an adequate gold standard to define positive and negative individuals. Here, a Bayesian approach was formulated to estimate for the first time sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of the tests [single int… Read more

Seminarios VISAVET 2012

Communications in this event:

- Tuberculosis bovina en Brasil

- Application of rough strains in small ruminant brucellosis control

- Reaccion en cadena de la polimerasa

Virus de Schmallenger

Conference in Jornada informativa sobre "Virus Schmallenberg"

TGen-led study suggests origins of MRSA strain in food animals

Origins of MRSA strain in food animals

A strain of the potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacterium known as MRSA has jumped from food animals to humans, according to a new study led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen).…

Technical specifications for the analysis and reporting of data on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the European Union Summary Report

EFSA Journal publish this article

In this report, proposals to improve the analysis and reporting of data in the European Union Summary Reports on antimicrobial resistance in animals and food collected from the Member States have been elaborated. A logistic regression modelling approach is recommended to assess significance of temporal trends in occurrence of resistance. Temporal trends in full scale minimum inhibitory concentration distributions should be also explored to increase the early detection of decreased susceptibility. The recommendations for the reporting of quantitative resistance data obtained through standardise… Read more

Virus de Schmallenger: Revisión de los aspectos conocidos de esta enfermedad. Riesgo potencial de entrada en nuestro país

Oral communication in Jornada "Virus Schmallenger"

Staphylococcus aureus CC398: host adaptation and emergence of methicillin resistance in livestock

Investigation published in mBio

Since its discovery in the early 2000s, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clonal complex 398 (CC398) has become a rapidly emerging cause of human infections, most often associated with livestock exposure. We applied whole-genome sequence typing to characterize a diverse collection of CC398 isolates (n = 89), including MRSA and methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) from animals and humans spanning 19 countries and four continents. We identified 4,238 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) among the 89 core genomes. Minimal homoplasy (consistency index = 0.9591) was detected … Read more

Apuntes sobre la enfermedad de Schmallenberg

New online article published in Página web del Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Veteinarios de Madrid

Revisión del origen, epidemiología, cuadro clínico, diagnóstico y control del virus Schmallemberg (VSB) así como una valoración del riesgo actual de aparición del mismo en España… Read more

Metagenómica, la técnica que "descubre" nuevos virus

Página web del Ilustre Colegio Oficial de Veteinarios de Madrid published this online article

Ante el reciente “descubrimiento” del virus de Schmallenberg gracias a las técnicas metagenómicas, muchos compañeros se preguntan: Y ¿qué es la metagenómica? En este artículo intentaremos desvelar de una manera muy divulgativa, las ventajas y desventajas de esta técnica y cuáles son sus aplicaciones en veterinaria… Read more

Situación epidemiológica de la nueva enfermedad de Schmallenberg. Riesgo para España

Conference in Conferencia sobre la nueva enfermedad de Schmallenberg en la Universidad de Murcia

Virus Schmallenberg

Interview in Agrosfera of RTVE

Entrevista al Profesor Sánchez-Vizcaíno sobre el plan de vigilancia que ha activado el Gobierno ante el virus Schmallenberg… Read more

Actualidad sobre la Encefalopatía Espongiforme Bovina

New outreach post in Blog Madri+d de Seguridad Alimentaria y Alimentación

El pasado mes de diciembre se publicó, por parte de la Dirección General sobre Salud y Consumidores, el informe anual de la UE sobre la vigilancia en rumiantes de las Encefalopatías Espongiformes Transmisibles (EETs), correspondiente al año 2010. En respuesta, el 30 de Enero de 2012, la EFSA emitió un comunicado mostrando su satisfacción por los resultados alcanzados. Estos revelan un evidente éxito para las políticas llevadas a cabo en la UE en relación a la lucha contra estas enfermedades, así como en la excelente percepción que sobre estos temas tienen los consumidores europeos… Read more

Early onset of incubation and eggshell bacterial loads in a temperate-zone cavity-nesting passerine

Investigation published in The Condor

It has been hypothesized that incubation begins before laying is completed because it controls bacterial growth on eggshells and infection of eggs. If so, early incubation should be associated with decreased abundance of bacteria on eggshells. There is no detailed information on incubation during daytime or nighttime during laying and its association with bird eggshells’ bacterial loads. We used temperature sensors placed in contact with eggs and connected to data-loggers to measure early incubation by females of the Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca,a hole-nesting passerine, beginning with … Read more

Age-related changes in abundance of enterococci and Enterobacteriaceae in Pied Flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) nestlings and their association with growth

Investigation published in Journal of Ornithology

Bacteria have the potential to be important selective forces in the evolution of many aspects of avian biology, including nestling growth. We estimated abundances of two common gut bacterial types in birds (enterococci and Enterobacteriaceae) and their correlation with growth in tarsus length, mass and wing length of 102 nestlings (54 broods) of the Pied Flycatcher, Ficedula hypoleuca, in a population of central Spain. Chicks were weighed and measured on days 7–13 after hatching, at which ages fecal samples were obtained for detection and estimation of abundance of enterococci and Enterobacter… Read more

Chryseobacterium oncorhynchi sp. nov., isolated from rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)

Investigation published in Systematic and Applied Microbiology

Genotypic and phenotypic analyses were performed on five Gram-negative, catalase and oxidasepositive, rod-shaped bacteria isolated from the gill and liver of four rainbow trout. Studies based on comparative 16S rRNA gene sequence analysis showed that the five new isolates shared 99.8–100% sequence similarity and that they belong to the genus Chryseobacterium. The nearest phylogenetic neighbours of the strain 701B-08T were Chryseobacterium ureilyticum F-Fue-04IIIaaaaT (99.1% 16S rRNA gene sequence similarity) and Chryseobacterium joosteii LMG 18212T (98.6%). DNA–DNA hybridization values between… Read more

Establishing Streptomycin Epidemiological Cut-Off Values for Salmonella and Escherichia coli

Investigation published in Microbial Drug Resistance (Larchmont, N.Y.)

This study was conducted to elucidate the accuracy of the current streptomycin epidemiological cut-off value (ECOFF) for Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. A total of 236 Salmonella enterica and 208 E. coli isolates exhibiting MICs between 4 and 32 mg/L were selected from 12 countries. Isolates were investigated by polymerase chain reaction for aadA, strA, and strB streptomycin resistance genes. Out of 236 Salmonella isolates, 32 (13.5%) yielded amplicons for aadA (n = 23), strA (n = 9), and strB (n = 11). None of the 60 Salmonella isolates exhibitin… Read more

Tuberculosis due to Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium caprae in sheep

Investigation article published in The Veterinary Journal

Tuberculosis was diagnosed in three flocks of sheep in Galicia, Spain, in 2009 and 2010. Two flocks were infected with Mycobacterium bovis and one flock was infected with Mycobacterium caprae. Infection was confirmed by the comparative intradermal tuberculin test, bacteriology, molecular analysis and histopathology. Sheep have the potential to act as a reservoir for tuberculosis… Read more

First isolation of the anamorph of Kazachstania heterogenica from a fatal infection in a primate host

Medical Mycology publish this investigation article

We describe the isolation of the anamorph of the ascomycetous yeast Kazachstania heterogenica from a fatal infection in a 2 year, 9-month-old female white-handed gibbon (Hylobates lar). The yeast was observed in histological sections (lung and intestine) and co-isolated with the bacterium Escherichia coli from different internal organs. This is the first report of the recovery of this yeast from a fatal infection in a primate host… Read more

Diagnosis of Tuberculosis in Camelids: Old Problems, Current Solutions and Future Challenges

Investigation published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

In spite of great efforts for its control and eradication, tuberculosis remains one of the most important zoonosis worldwide. Its causative agents, the members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex, have a wide host range that complicates the epidemiology of this disease. Among susceptible species to these pathogens, camelids from the New World (llama, alpaca and vicuña) and Old World (Bactrian camel and dromedary) are acquiring an increasing importance in several European countries because of its growing number and could act as reservoirs of the disease for livestock and humans in their n… Read more

Tuberculosis in goats: Assessment of current in vivo cell-mediated and antibody-based diagnostic assays

Investigation article published in The Veterinary Journal

Tuberculosis in goats, mainly caused by Mycobacterium bovis and M. caprae, is a zoonotic disease with implications for public health, as well as having an economic impact due to decreased goat production, increased mortality rates and costs of diagnosis. There is an increasing need for surveillance of tuberculosis-infected goat herds, particularly in countries that are not officially free of bovine tuberculosis, and goats sharing farms with cattle should be subjected to the official tuberculin test. In Spain, some regions have programmes for the control of tuberculosis in goats, applying the s… Read more

De la fijación del complemento a la metagenómica

Chapter included in 100 x 100 Actualidad Veterinaria edited by Servet-Grupo Asís Biomedia S.L..