Research

Assessing the benefits of composting poultry manure in reducing antimicrobial residues, pathogenic bacteria, and antimicrobial resistance genes: a field-scale study

Investigation article published in Environmental Science and Pollution Research

The poultry industry in the European Union produces 13 million tons of manure annually, which represents a major health and environmental challenge. Composting is an environmental-friendly technique for the management of manure, but there are few studies about antibiotic residues and antimicrobial resistances at a field scale. The goal of this study was to determine if the composting of poultry manure at a field scale would result in the reduction of antibiotic residues, pathogenic bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the final fertilizer product. A 10- week composting of poultr… Leer más

An Introductory Framework for Choosing Spatiotemporal Analytical Tools in Population-Level Eco-Epidemiological Research

Frontiers in veterinary science publish this investigation article

Spatiotemporal visualization and analytical tools (SATs) are increasingly being applied to risk-based surveillance/monitoring of adverse health events affecting humans, animals, and ecosystems. Different disciplines use diverse SATs to address similar research questions. The juxtaposition of these diverse techniques provides a list of options for researchers who are new to population-level spatial eco-epidemiology. Here, we are conducting a narrative review to provide an overview of the multiple available SATs, and introducing a framework for choosing among them when addressing common research… Leer más

Positive attitudes towards feline obesity are strongly associated with ownership of obese cats

Investigation published in PLoS ONE

Overweight and obesity (O&O) is a risk factor for several health conditions and can result in a shorter lifespan for cats. The objectives of this study were to investigate (a) cat owners` attitudes towards feline O&O and their associations with O&O in their cats; and (b) the risk factors for feline O&O and underweight, particularly those involving owner practice. An online survey comprising questions related to cat owners` attitudes towards feline O&O, owner-reported body weight and body condition of their cat, and potential risk factors for feline O&O was conducted. Primarily targeting the Au… Leer más

- Los propietarios menos concienciados tienden a tener gatos más obesos - animalshealth.es

Spatial trends in Salmonella infection in pigs in Spain

Frontiers in veterinary science publish this investigation article

Salmonella is one of the most important foodborne pathogens worldwide. Its main reservoirs are poultry and pigs, in which infection is endemic in many countries. Spain has one of the largest pig populations in the world. Even though Salmonella infection is commonly detected in pig farms, its spatial distribution at the national level is poorly understood. Here we aimed to report the spatial distribution of Salmonella-positive pig farms in Spain and investigate the presence of potential spatial trends over a 17-year period. For this, data on samples from pigs tested for Salmonella in 2002-2013… Leer más

MLVA-16 Genotyping of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis Isolates From Different Animal Species in Egypt: Geographical Relatedness and the Mediterranean Lineage

Pathogens publish this investigation article

Brucellosis is a common zoonotic disease in Egypt. However, there are limited data available on the genetic diversity of brucellae circulating in Egypt and other Mediterranean areas. One hundred and nine Brucella (B.) strains were isolated from different animal species in thirteen Egyptian governorates. Multi-locus variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) analysis (MLVA-16) was employed to determine the geographical relatedness and the genetic diversity of a panel of selected Egyptian strains (n = 69), with strains originating from Italy (n = 49), Portugal (n = 52), Greece (n = 63), and Tunisia … Leer más

Long-Term Determinants of Tuberculosis in the Ungulate Host Community of Doñana National Park

Investigation article published in Pathogens

Animal tuberculosis (TB) is endemic in wild boar (Sus scrofa), red deer (Cervus elaphus), fallow deer (Dama dama) and cattle in south and central Spain. In order to clarify the processes that operate in the medium and long-term, we studied TB at the wildlife–livestock interface in Doñana National Park for 14 years (2006–2018) in relation to host density, stochastic factors (rainfall) and environmental features (e.g., aggregation points such as waterholes). Wild boar showed the highest prevalence of TB (76.7%), followed by red deer (42.5%), fallow deer (14.4%) and cattle (10.7%). We found evide… Leer más

- Ocho de cada diez jabalíes de Doñana tiene tuberculosis - club-caza.com

- Casi el 80% de los jabalíes de Doñana tienen tuberculosis - animalshealth.es

Detection of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses in breeding and sport horses from Spain

Investigation article published in Ticks and Tick-Borne Diseases

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) and louping-ill virus (LIV) are two closely related zoonotic flaviviruses leading to neurological diseases and belonging to the tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) serocomplex. Both viruses are transmitted by the same ixodid tick vector, Ixodes ricinus. Due to global warming affecting vector biology and pathogen transmission, the viruses pose an emerging threat for public health in Europe and Asia. These flaviviruses share some hosts, like sheep, goats and humans, although the main hosts for LIV and TBEV are sheep and small rodents, respectively. Whereas LIV has … Leer más

- Detectan por 1ª vez anticuerpos contra flavivirus en caballos de España - animalshealth.es

Environmental DNA: A Promising Factor for Tuberculosis Risk Assessment in Multi-Host Settings

PLoS ONE publish this investigation article

Attaining and maintaining the Official Tuberculosis Free status continues to be a challenge when several domestic and wild hosts contribute to the maintenance of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTC). Local tuberculosis hotspots are sometimes identified in cattle in low-prevalence regions. We have, therefore, studied one such hotspot in depth in order to produce an epidemiological diagnosis. Host population size and MTC prevalence were estimated in selected wildlife and in livestock, while on-cattle environmental DNA detection was additionally used as a proxy for risk of exposure at the… Leer más

Retrospective Spatial Analysis for African Swine Fever in Endemic Areas to Assess Interactions Between Susceptible Host Populations

Investigation published in PLoS ONE

African Swine Fever (ASF) is one of the most complex and significant diseases from a sanitary-economic perspective currently affecting the world`s swine-farming industry. ASF has been endemic in Sardinia (Italy) since 1978, and several control and eradication programmes have met with limited success. In this traditional ASF endemic area, there are three susceptible host populations for this virus sharing the same habitat: wild boar, farmed domestic pigs and non-registered free-ranging pigs (known as "brado" animals). The main goal of this study was to determine and predict fine-scale spatial i… Leer más

Lessons Learned From the Stakeholder Engagement in Research: Application of Spatial Analytical Tools in One Health Problems

Investigation article published in Frontiers in veterinary science

Stakeholder engagement in research is widely advocated as a tool to integrate diverse knowledge and perspectives in the management of health threats while addressing potential conflicts of interest. Although guidelines for stakeholder engagement exist in public health and environmental sciences, the feasibility of actionable decisions based on scientific analyses and the lessons learned from the stakeholder engagement in the process co-creation of knowledge have been rarely discussed in One Health literature and veterinary sciences. Risk maps and risk regionalization using spatiotemporal epide… Leer más