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SCI Scientific Publications of VISAVET Centre
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dissertations of VISAVET Centre
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Last research news
April 26th, 2024
Vía publiDB
Characterization of Oxidative Stress Biomarkers in Dogs: Reference Intervals, Biological Variation Sources, and Endogenous Interferences
PhD Thesis defense by Blanca Pérez Montero at the VISAVET Centre of the Complutense University of Madrid
Oxidative stress, defined as an imbalance between oxidizing agents and the antioxidant forces of the body, has been associated with multiple pathologies in the canine species. Among the most commonly used biomarkers are malondialdehyde (MDA), a metabolite of lipid peroxidation, 8-hydroxy-2`-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), a product of DNA oxidation, and the 2,2`-azino-bis-[3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid] (ABTS) assay as an indicator of total antioxidant status (TAS). Although these biomarkers have demonstrated clinical value in dogs, the absence of established reference intervals (RIs) is not…
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April 4th, 2024
Vía publiDB
Evolutionary Dynamics of Integron Resistance Cassettes. A Deeper Look into the Integron Model
PhD Thesis defense by Alberto Hipólito Carrillo de Albornoz at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the major global health concerns of the 21st century. The indiscriminate use of antibiotics, among other factors, has led to an exponential increase in antimicrobial- resistant bacteria in recent decades. It is estimated that every year between 1.5 and 5 million people die due to infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria. These data highlight the need to take urgent measures to tackle this threat, with a priority on understanding the forces that govern the success of multidrug-resistant bacteria.
The exceptional ability of bacteria to evolve and ad…
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April 2nd, 2024
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Active surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in companion animals: A pilot study in a Spanish Veterinary Teaching Hospital
Investigation article published in Comparative Immunology, Microbiology and Infectious Diseases
The role of small animal veterinary hospitals in the onset and dissemination of antimicrobial-resistant organisms (AMROs) is still not clear, and the implementation of an internal surveillance systems is a cost-effective tool to better understand their impact. The aim of this study was to describe a pilot program of active surveillance in a Spanish Veterinary Teaching Hospital, developed to estimate the detection frequency of AMROs in the commensal flora of patients and in the environment. Surveillance was focused on Methicillin-resistant Staphylococci (MRS), third generation cephalosporins re…
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April 2nd, 2024
Vía publiDB
Forensic findings in urban red fox mortality in the metropolitan area of Madrid, 2014-2022
Investigation article published in Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
The expanding presence of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in urban and suburban regions could potentially lead to increased instances of human aggression towards this species. We studied 10 deceased red foxes that were submitted by law enforcement agencies in the metropolitan area of Madrid in 2014-2022 because of suspected abuse. Forensic autopsies were performed to establish the cause and manner of death. In 4 of the 10 cases, the cause of death was deemed unnatural, involving blunt-force trauma (n = 2), asphyxia resulting from hanging (n = 1), and firearm injury (n = 1). Among the remaining cases…
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March 27th, 2024
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Tertiary lymphoid organs in wild boar exposed to a low-virulent isolate of African swine fever virus
Investigation published in The Veterinary quarterly
Despite the great interest in the development of a vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) in wild boar, the immunological mechanisms that induce animal protection are still unknown. For this purpose, tertiary lymphoid organs (TLOs) of wild boar were characterised and compared with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues (MALTs) by histopathology, histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry (CD3, CD79, PAX5, LYVE1, fibronectin). In addition, real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and immunohistochemistry (p72) were used to evaluate the presence of ASF virus (ASFV) in blood and tissues samples, …
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March 22nd, 2024
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Eco-Sanitary Regionalization of Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in the Western Palearctic Realm as a Tool for the Stewardship of African Swine Fever
Investigation published in Transboundary and Emerging Diseases
African swine fever (ASF) is a viral hemorrhagic disease affecting domestic and wild suids, with catastrophic socioeconomic impact worldwide. In the European scenario, wild boar (Sus scrofa) actively contributes to the maintenance and spread of the disease. In this study, we applied a multivariate clustering method to define ecoregions in the western Palearctic realm based on ecological and sanitary aspects of ASF in wild boar. Beforehand, we performed a principal components analysis for the eight selected variables. An analysis of the countries was carried out in terms of the extent of ecoreg…
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March 21st, 2024
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Strategies for African swine fever prevention
PhD Thesis defense by Carolina Muñoz Peréz at the VISAVET Centre of the Complutense University of Madrid
African swine fever (ASF) is a devastating infectious disease of swine, which is listed as notifiable to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH). In the last few years, the disease has spread worldwide. Nowadays, this pandemic spread poses the greatest threat to the global swine industry. In view of this situation, this doctoral thesis entitled: “Strategies for African swine fever prevention”, aims to develop epidemiological knowledge regarding the most important risk factors for ASF entry into an ASF-free area, in particular, the natural movement of wild boar populations and the inter…
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March 19th, 2024
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The European livestock resistome
mSystems publish this investigation article
Metagenomic sequencing has proven to be a powerful tool in the monitoring of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Here, we provide a comparative analysis of the resistome from pigs, poultry, veal calves, turkey, and rainbow trout, for a total of 538 herds across nine European countries. We calculated the effects of per-farm management practices and antimicrobial usage (AMU) on the resistome in pigs, broilers, and veal calves. We also provide an in-depth study of the associations between bacterial diversity, resistome diversity, and AMR abundances as well as co-occurrence analysis of bacterial taxa …
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March 9th, 2024
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Molecular detection of herpesvirus in a skin lesion of a humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the Western Mediterranean Sea
European Journal of Wildlife Research publish this investigation article
Herpesvirus has the potential to infect a wide variety of animal species. In cetaceans, Alpha- and/or Gammaherpesvirinae have been identified in eight families of odontocetes, and one family of mysticetes. In May 2022, an adult humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) was found stranded in Valencia, Spain. The whale was emaciated, in poor body condition, with multiple lacerations on the dorsal fin and a high number of epibionts of the Cyamidae family, known as whale lice. The individual had been previously released from a ghost net entanglement 5 days before becoming stranded. In a closer exami…
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March 8th, 2024
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Pancreatic adenocarcinoma treated with surgical resection, toceranib phosphate and firocoxib in a dog: a case report
Investigation article published in Veterinary Research Communications
Exocrine pancreatic carcinomas are rarely reported in dogs. A ductal pancreatic adenocarcinoma in a 10-year-old intact beagle is described in this report. The diagnosis was made based on clinical signs, imaging (abdominal ultrasound and CT scan) and histopathology. Treatment consisted of partial right lobe pancreatectomy followed by adjuvant therapy with toceranib phosphate (Palladia®) and firocoxib (Previcox®) for six months. The treatment was well tolerated, and the survival time was 445 days. To our knowledge, this is the longest survival reported in the literature for a dog diagnosed with …
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