Research

Evaluation of PCR assays for Campylobacter fetus detection and discrimination between C. fetus subspecies in bovine preputial wash samples

Investigation article published in Theriogenology

Campylobacter fetus is a zoonotic pathogen found in cattle, in which it is one of the main causes of infectious infertility. Most diagnostic laboratories use PCR as quick easy tool for C. fetus identification. However, there is no standardized PCR assay for C. fetus detection and subspecies differentiation, hindering the comparison of results. In this study, we evaluated selected PCR assays targeting the 16S rRNA, gyrB, cpn60, cstA, cdtB and nahE genes for C. fetus identification and ISCfe1, sapB2, parA and virB11 for subspecies differentiation. Analytical sensitivity and specificity were asse… Leer más

The spatial ecology of red deer under different land use and management scenarios: Protected areas, mixed farms and fenced hunting estates

Investigation article published in Science of the total environment

The knowledge regarding the spatial ecology of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in different environments is crucial if effective management actions are to be designed. However, this knowledge continues to be scarce in the complex contexts of mixed land use and management circumstances. This study describes the spatial ecology of red deer monitored using GPS collars in Mediterranean ecosystems of South-Central Spain, considering the effect of individual and seasonal (food shortage period, rut, hunting season and food abundance period) factors on different land use and management scenarios, namely pro… Leer más

Conjugation Inhibitors Effectively Prevent Plasmid Transmission in Natural Environments

Investigation article published in MBio

Plasmid conjugation is a major route for the spread of antibiotic resistance genes. Inhibiting conjugation has been proposed as a feasible strategy to stop or delay the propagation of antibiotic resistance genes. Several compounds have been shown to be conjugation inhibitors in vitro, specifically targeting the plasmid horizontal transfer machinery. However, the in vivo efficiency and the applicability of these compounds to clinical and environmental settings remained untested. Here we show that the synthetic fatty acid 2-hexadecynoic acid (2-HDA), when used as a fish food supplement, lowers t… Leer más

Assigning Defined Daily/Course Doses for Antimicrobials in Turkeys to Enable a Cross-Country Quantification and Comparison of Antimicrobial Use

Antibiotics publish this investigation article

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens our public health and is mainly driven by antimicrobial usage (AMU). For this reason the World Health Organization calls for detailed monitoring of AMU over all animal sectors involved. Therefore, we aimed to quantify AMU on turkey farms. First, turkey-specific Defined Daily Dose (DDDturkey) was determined. These were compared to the broiler alternative from the European Surveillance of Veterinary Antimicrobial Consumption (DDDvet), that mention DDDvet as a proxy for other poultry species. DDDturkey ranged from being 81.5% smaller to 48.5% larger compar… Leer más

Isolation and immunophenotyping by flow cytometry of canine peripheral blood and intraepithelial and lamina propria duodenal T lymphocytes

Investigation published in Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology

The gut associated lymphoid tissue (GALT) effector sites play a crucial role on the pathogenesis of many immune-mediated gastrointestinal diseases. The lymphocytes at these effector sites are principally T cells which present important morphological, phenotypical and functional differences. Flow cytometry (FC) is one of the most commonly used techniques to characterize intestinal lymphocytes in human and animal models. Published studies with a focus on dogs for intraepithelial lymphocytes (IEL) immunophenotyping exist in very limited numbers. Moreover, no lamina propria lymphocytes (LPL) isola… Leer más

Detection of Leishmania spp. in atypical reservoirs and molecular characterisation

PhD Thesis defense by Mª Victoria Ortega García at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Complutense University of Madrid

Leishmaniasis is a group of parasitic diseases of zoonotic and anthroponotic origin caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania, within the Trypanosomatidae family. Transmission to the vertebrate host occurs through the bite of female sandfly, blood-sucking insects belonging to the genera Phlebotomus (Old World) or Lutzomyia (New World), within the Psychodidae family. Among the parasitic diseases, leishmaniasis ranks second as the most frequent cause of death in the world behind malaria. In addition, this disease is included in the group of neglected tropical diseases (NTD), and is present in m… Leer más

- Estudian reservorios atípicos de Leishmania en España para prevenir brotes - animalshealth.es

Antimicrobial Usage in Companion and Food Animals: Methods, Surveys and Relationships With Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals and Humans, Volume II

Frontiers in veterinary science publish this investigation article

The best way to quantify antimicrobial use (AMU) in animals has raised wide research interests over the past years. Following the success of the first edition of the Research Topic on “Antimicrobial Usage in Companion and Food Animals: Methods, Surveys, and Relationships with Antimicrobial Resistance in Animals and Humans” Moreno et al., a second edition was launched. The objective was to continue the discussion on AMU metrics and expand the topic to other geographical regions (beyond North American and European Union countries), as well as other animal species (other than cattle, pigs, poultr… Leer más

Genomic evolution of antimicrobial resistance in Escherichia coli

Scientific reports publish this investigation article

The emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest health threats globally. In addition, the use of antimicrobial drugs in humans and livestock is considered an important driver of antimicrobial resistance. The commensal microbiota, and especially the intestinal microbiota, has been shown to have an important role in the emergence of AMR. Mobile genetic elements (MGEs) also play a central role in facilitating the acquisition and spread of AMR genes. We isolated Escherichia coli (n = 627) from fecal samples in respectively 25 poultry, 28 swine, and 15 veal calf herds from 6 E… Leer más

Estudio de la seguridad y la transmisión de la vacuna oral frente a la peste porcina africana entre jabalí y cerdo doméstico. Seguimiento mediante vigilancia de los contactos inter-específicos

Degree Final Project defended by Luisa Blondeau León

Estudio anatomopatológico y de PCR de la infección por el virus de la mixomatosis y sus variantes en liebre y conejo

Raul Manjavacas Pintado defended this Degree Final Project

Myxomatosis is a characteristic viral disease of rabbits caused by classical Myxoma virus (MYXV), a leporipoxvirus introduced in Europe in the 1950s classically affecting European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and causing high lethality. However, in 2018 Iberian hares (Lepus granatensis) from Spain exhibited symptoms compatible with myxomatosis. In the wake of this outbreak, a new recombinant strain of Myxoma virus (MYXV-Tol) was identified. In order to study the distribution of these two variants and their involvement in pathology, 14 animals (8 rabbits and 6 hares) from Madrid and Castilla… Leer más