Research

Trans-species transmission of Brucellae among ruminants hampering brucellosis control efforts in Egypt

Journal of Applied Microbiology publish this investigation article

This study aimed to identify the genotypic fingerprinting of B. melitensis biovar 3 isolates from ruminants in Kafr El-Sheikh, Egypt, to compare with other peers globally, and to highlight the epidemiology and potential causes of brucellosis control failure. A multilocus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA 16) was carried out on 41 B. melitensis bv3 isolates, 31 from the preferential hosts (28 sheep and three goats), and ten from atypical hosts (nine cattle and one buffalo), identified by bacteriological and molecular techniques. MLVA-16 analysis revealed 19 genotypes with nine as … Leer más

Safety of African Swine Fever Vaccine Candidate Lv17/WB/Rie1 in Wild Boar: Overdose and Repeated Doses

Investigation article published in Frontiers in immunology

African swine fever (ASF) is a highly lethal infectious disease that affects domestic pigs and wild boar. Outbreaks of ASF have grown considerably in the last decade causing important economic consequences for the swine industry. Its control is hampered by the lack of an effective treatment or vaccine. In Europe, the wild boar is a key wild reservoir for ASF. The results of the oral vaccination trial of wild boar with Lv17/WB/Rie1 are hope for this problem. However, this vaccine candidate has certain safety concerns, since it is a naturally attenuated vaccine. Therefore, the current study aims… Leer más

Evolution of ColE1-like plasmids across γ-Proteobacteria: From bacteriocin production to antimicrobial resistance

Investigation published in PLoS Genetics

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major threats to Public Health worldwide. Understanding the transfer and maintenance of antimicrobial resistance genes mediated by mobile genetic elements is thus urgent. In this work, we focus on the ColE1-like plasmid family, whose distinctive replication and multicopy nature has given rise to key discoveries and tools in molecular biology. Despite being massively used, the hosts, functions, and evolutionary history of these plasmids remain poorly known. Here, we built specific Hidden Markov Model(HMM) profiles to search ColE1 replicons within genomes. … Leer más

Differences in wild boar spatial behaviour among land uses and management scenarios in Mediterranean ecosystems

Investigation published in Science of the total environment

The ubiquitous wild boar is causing diverse and growing conflicts of socio-ecological and economic relevance worldwide. For that reason, knowledge of its spatial ecology is crucial to designing effective management programmes. But this knowledge is scarce in Mediterranean areas with mixed land uses. We describe the spatial ecology and habitat selection of 41 adult wild boar monitored using GPS collars and analyse the effects of sex and the period (food shortage period, hunting season and food abundance period) under different land uses (protected areas, mixed farms and fenced hunting estates).… Leer más

Advances in diving pathophysiology knowledge in sea turtles: The discovery of decompression sickness

Daniel García Párraga defended the PhD Thesis at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid

Decompression sickness (DCS), clinically diagnosed by reversal of symptoms after recompression treatment, has never been reported in breath hold divers, despite the predictable occurrence in their tissues when nitrogen stresses high enough to lead to bubble formation and lesions based on studies in terrestrial experimental models. In marine mammals, lesions compatible with DCS were described in post mortem studies, in cases where altered diving behavior is assumed because of exposure to high-powered underwater acoustic sources (e.g., active military sonar) and in cases of animals accidentally … Leer más

Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) aggressive behavior towards other cetacean species in the western Mediterranean

Scientific reports publish this investigation article

Aggressive behavior of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) towards conspecifics is widely described, but they have also often been reported attacking and killing harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) around the world. However, very few reports exist of aggressive interactions between bottlenose dolphins and other cetacean species. Here, we provide the first evidence that bottlenose dolphins in the western Mediterranean exhibit aggressive behavior towards both striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) and Risso`s dolphins (Grampus griseus). Necropsies and visual examination of stranded stri… Leer más

A new method for sampling African swine fever virus genome and its inactivation in environmental samples

Investigation published in Scientific reports

African swine fever (ASF) is currently the most dangerous disease for the global pig industry, causing huge economic losses, due to the lack of effective vaccine or treatment. Only the early detection of ASF virus (ASFV) and proper biosecurity measures are effective to reduce the viral expansion. One of the most widely recognized risks as regards the introduction ASFV into a country is infected animals and contaminated livestock vehicles. In order to improve ASF surveillance, we have assessed the capacity for the detection and inactivation of ASFV genome by using Dry-Sponges (3 M) pre-hydrated… Leer más

Large-scale study on virological and serological prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in cats and dogs in Spain

Investigation article published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

The disease produced by the severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), is currently one of the primary concerns worldwide. Knowing the zoonotic origin of the disease and that several animal species, including dogs and cats, are susceptible to viral infection, it is critical to assess the relevance of pets in this pandemic. Here, we performed a large-scale study on SARS-CoV-2 serological and viral prevalence in cats and dogs in Spain in order to elucidate their role and susceptibility. Samples from animals in contact with COVID-19 positive people and/or compatible sym… Leer más

- Estudian la prevalencia serológica de SARS-CoV-2 en mascotas españolas - diarioveterinario.com

Equine infection with Leishmania spp. in Costa Rica: Study of five cases

Investigation published in Veterinary Medicine and Science

Cutaneous forms of leishmaniosis due to Leishmania braziliensis have been reported in horses in the New World. Domestic animals play a role in the transmission of the disease. In Costa Rica, human cases of L. braziliensis, L. panamensis and L. infantum have been reported. The present report describes five cases of equine cutaneous leishmaniosis in Costa Rica. The aetiological diagnosis was based on the presence of the parasite within the lesions. Skin biopsies were used to perform histopathological analyses of the lesions. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the presence of the Leishmania … Leer más

- Veterinarios españoles describen 5 casos de leishmaniosis equina - animalshealth.es

Systematic Determination of Herpesvirus in Free-Ranging Cetaceans Stranded in the Western Mediterranean: Tissue Tropism and Associated Lesions

Investigation article published in Viruses-Basel

The monitoring of herpesvirus infection provides useful information when assessing marine mammals’ health. This paper shows the prevalence of herpesvirus infection (80.85%) in 47 cetaceans stranded on the coast of the Valencian Community, Spain. Of the 966 tissues evaluated, 121 tested positive when employing nested-PCR (12.53%). The largest proportion of herpesvirus-positive tissue samples was in the reproductive system, nervous system, and tegument. Herpesvirus was more prevalent in females, juveniles, and calves. More than half the DNA PCR positive tissues contained herpesvirus RNA, indicat… Leer más