Last SCI scientific publications
Protein metabolism and physical fitness are physiological determinants of body condition in Southern European carnivores
Scientific Reports 0(1):15755.
The physiological significance of biometric body condition indices (bBCI) is poorly understood. We hypothesized that bBCI are composite metrics of nutritional physiology, physical fitness and health. To test this hypothesis, we first compared the performance of eight bBCI, using 434 Southern European carnivores from six species as a model system; and then identified, by non-destructive methods, the hematology and serum biochemistry correlates of three selected bBCI. Fulton’s K Index, Major Axis Regression Residuals and Scaled Mass Index were the only bBCI insensitive to the effect of sex and age. The most informative physiological parameters in explaining the variation of these bBCI were the albumin (Effect Size (ES) = − 1… Leer más
Santos N., Nakamura M., Rio-Maior H., Alvares F., Barasona JA., Rosalino LM., Santos MJ., Santos-Reis M., Ferreras P., Díaz-Ruiz F. and Monterroso P.
Evaluation of Risk Factors Associated With Herds With an Increased Duration of Bovine Tuberculosis Breakdowns in Castilla y Leon, Spain
Frontiers In Veterinary Science 7:545328.
The persistence of bovine tuberculosis (bTB) in certain cattle herds is a major concern in countries pursuing disease eradication worldwide. The chronic nature of the disease, the lack of performance of diagnostic tools, and the presence of wildlife reservoirs may lead infected herds to require longer periods to achieve the officially tuberculosis-free (OTF) status. Here, we evaluated the impact of farm and breakdown characteristics on the probability of disease persistence in infected farms in Castilla y Leon, a bTB-endemic region of Spain, using survival and logistic regression models. Data from bTB breakdowns occurring in 3,550 bTB-positive herds detected in 2010–2017 were analyzed. A multivariable Cox proportional hazards model was fitt… Leer más
Pozo P., Romero B., Bezos J., Grau A., Nacar J., Saez JL., Minguez O. and Alvarez J..
Clinical Course and Gross Pathological Findings in Wild Boar Infected with a Highly Virulent Strain of African Swine Fever Virus Genotype II
Pathogens 9(9):E688.
African swine fever (ASF) is a notifiable disease that in recent years has spread remarkably in Europe and Asia. Eurasian wild boar (Sus scrofa) plays a key role in the maintenance and spread of the pathogen. Here we examined gross pathology of infection in wild boar with a highly virulent, hemadsorbing genotype II ASF virus (ASFV) strain. To this end, six wild boars were intramuscularly inoculated with the 10 HAD50 Arm07 ASFV strain, and 11 wild boars were allowed to come into direct contact with the inoculated animals. No animals survived the infection. Clinical course, gross pathological findings and viral genome quantification by PCR in tissues did not differ between intramuscularly inoculated or contact-infected animals. Postmortem ana… Leer más
Rodriguez-Bertos A., Cadenas-Fernández E., Rebollada A., Porras-Gonzalez N., Mayoral-Alegre F., Barreno San Antolín L., Kosowska A., Tome-Sanchez I., Barasona JA. and Sanchez-Vizcaino JM..
Distribution of Pestivirus exposure in wild ruminants in Spain
Transboundary And Emerging Diseases 1-9.
A large‐scale study was carried out to determine the prevalence of antibodies against Pestivirus species in wild ruminants and describe their spatial variation in mainland Spain. Serum samples of 1,874 wild ruminants from different regions of this country were collected between the years 2000 and 2017. A total of 6.6% (123/1,874) animals showed antibodies against Pestivirus by both blocking ELISA (bELISA) and virus neutralization tests (VNT). The prevalence of antibodies against pestiviruses was different both among species and regions. Seroprevalence by species was 30.0% (75/250) in Southern chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica), 7.0% (25/357) in fallow deer (Dama dama), 2.5% (10/401) in red deer (Cervus elaphus), 2.4% (8/330) in Iberian wil… Leer más
Jiménez-Ruiz S., Vicente J., Garcia-Bocanegra I., Cabezon O., Arnal MC., Balseiro A., Ruiz-Fons F., Gomez-Guillamon F., Lazaro S., Escribano F., Acevedo P., Dominguez L., Gortazar C., Fernandez de Luco D. and Risalde MA.
Detection of environmental SARS-CoV-2 RNA in a high prevalence setting in Spain
Transboundary And Emerging Diseases 1-6.
Since March 2020, Spain (along with many other countries) has been severely affected by the ongoing coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the rapid spread of a new virus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; SARS-CoV-2). As part of global efforts to improve disease surveillance, we investigated how readily SARS-CoV-2 RNA could be detected in environmental samples collected from an isolated rural community in Spain with a high COVID-19 prevalence (6% of the population of 883 inhabitants). The first diagnosis of COVID-19-compatible symptoms in the village was recorded on March 3, 2020 and the last known active case resolved on June 5, 2020. By May 15, two months after strict movement constraints were imposed ("lockd… Leer más
Fernandez de Mera IG., Rodriguez del Rio FJ., de la Fuente J., Perez-Sancho M., Hervas D., Moreno I., Dominguez M., Dominguez L. and Gortazar C.
Accuracy of tuberculosis diagnostic tests in small ruminants: A systematic review and meta-analysis
Preventive Veterinary Medicine 182:105102.
Tuberculosis (TB) in small ruminants is a neglected disease despite its major impact on goat and sheep production and the global public health. The awareness of the role of small ruminants in the epidemiology of animal TB has increased in the last two decades, however, there is a lack of standardization of procedures and robust quantitative estimates on the accuracy of diagnostic TB tests in the scientific literature. To address this knowledge gap, all the available information regarding the use of ante-mortem diagnostic techniques in small ruminants was collected and summarized through a systematic review process. Furthermore, a random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to separately estimate the sensitivity (Se) and specificity (Sp) of c… Leer más
Roy A., Infantes-Lorenzo JA., de la Cruz ML., Dominguez L., Alvarez J. and Bezos J..
Detection of antibodies against tick-borne encephalitis flaviviruses in breeding and sport horses from Spain
Ticks And Tick-Borne Diseases 11(5):101487.
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 been detected in Spanish sheep and goat herds, circulating antibodies against TBEV have only been reported in dogs and horses from particular regions … Leer más
Camino E., Schmid S., Weber F., Pozo P., de Juan L., Konig M. and Cruz F.
Comparing serotyping with whole-genome sequencing for subtyping of non-typhoidal Salmonella enterica: a large-scale analysis of 37 serotypes with a public health impact in the USA
Microbial Genomics 1-13.
Serotyping has traditionally been used for subtyping of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolates. However, its discriminatory power is limited, which impairs its use for epidemiological investigations of source attribution. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis allows more accurate subtyping of strains. However, because of the relative newness and cost of routine WGS, large-scale studies involving NTS WGS are still rare. We aimed to revisit the big picture of subtyping NTS with a public health impact by using traditional serotyping (i.e. reaction between antisera and surface antigens) and comparing the results with those obtained using WGS. For this purpose, we analysed 18 282 sequences of isolates belonging to 37 serotypes with a public he… Leer más
Elnekave E., Hong SL., Lim S., Johnson TJ., Perez A. and Alvarez J..
Involvement of hpap2 and dgkA Genes in Colistin Resistance Mediated by mcr Determinants
Antibiotics 9(9):E531.
Plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (mcr) determinants are challenging the efficacy of polymyxins against Gram-negative pathogens. Among 10 mcr genes described so far, the major determinants mcr-1 and mcr-3 are found closely linked to hpap2 or dgkA genes, encoding a hypothetical phosphatidic acid phosphatase of type 2 (PAP2) and a diacylglycerol kinase, respectively, whose functions are still unknown. In this study, mcr-1, mcr-1–hpap2, mcr-3, and mcr-3–dgkA were expressed in Escherichia coli, and recombinant strains were analyzed to detect antimicrobial susceptibility and changes in the expression of genes involved in phospholipid metabolism. The mcr-1 or mcr-3 single genes were enough to drive growth on colistin selective media, although … Leer más
Gallardo A., Ugarte-Ruiz M., Hernandez M., Miguela-Villoldo P., Rodriguez-Lazaro D., Dominguez L. and Quesada A.
Environmental determinants influencing anthrax distribution in Queen Elizabeth Protected Area, Western Uganda
PLoS ONE 15(8):e0237223.
Bacillus anthracis, the bacteria that causes anthrax, a disease that primarily affects herbivorous animals, is a soil borne endospore-forming microbe. Environmental distribution of viable spores determines risky landscapes for herbivore exposure and subsequent anthrax outbreaks. Spore survival and longevity depends on suitable conditions in its environment. Anthrax is endemic in Queen Elizabeth Protected Area in western Uganda. Periodic historical outbreaks with significant wildlife losses date to 1950s, but B. anthracis ecological niche in the ecosystem is poorly understood. This study used the Maximum Entropy modeling algorithm method to predict suitable niche and environmental conditions that may support anthrax distribution and spore su… Leer más
Driciru M., Rwego IB., Ndimuligo SA., Travis DA., Mwakapeje ER., Craft M., Asiimwe B., Alvarez J., Ayebare S. and Pelican K.
